Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I will respond to Deputy McConalogue on the general issues around the funding of higher education. As the Deputy knows, my predecessor, Deputy Quinn, established an expert group under the chairmanship of Mr. Peter Cassells to look at the future funding of higher education, and I expect the expert group to report to me some time this year. That group is working on the options for the future funding of higher education, an issue on which we have to make decisions. I need to get that report before we can make those broader decisions. Everybody has strong views on that issue, as I know the Chairman has.

We have asked the higher education institutions to put arrangements in place to allow students to pay the student contribution in two instalments in order that they would not be asked for the full contribution upfront. I asked the institutions directly to put that arrangement in place because clearly it is difficult for people to come up with the money