Mr. Alan Murphy:

Our scheme may seem rather rigid, but as we deepen our understanding of the student population and become more established in our role we realise that there are a number of things we can do to inform students of where they sit within the scheme, which we do through our website and other communications. We try to be positive when students approach us and to help them achieve their entitlement. It is not just about them passing through the scheme for better or worse. When we are assessing students we try to get them over the line. We can go back to them and ask for evidence that might get them over the line but that we would not ask for if it was not relevant. We had a look at where students fell in the final outcome, whether above or below the line. Within €20 of the threshold there were more people who lay over the line, at 52 students, than lay under it, at just three. The same applies at €50 either side of the threshold, and that indicates that people are being facilitated by the means available to us under the scheme and by the way we explore what allowances may be applicable to them or what income may be deductible. It shows that we are succeeding in giving students every chance to get over the line.