Mr. John Conroy:

The position is that last year banking details were collected at the end of the process. This year, however, they will be collected when the initial declaration forms are submitted. On the payment process, when we award funds to an applicant we need the relevant college to confirm the student's registration or attendance, depending on the type of college he or she attends. This is a two-week process. This year, we are tightening up the process through the use of electronic data transfer. Mr. Connolly has been chairing a number of working groups with the institutes of technology and universities aimed at speeding up the process.

Once a student is awarded, he or she will wait until starting second year for our renewals, at which point he or she will receive payment. In the case of new applicants, once a college confirms registration to us, which is a two-week process, the student will go into payment.