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

I thank the witnesses who have given us a very good picture of how these young people are trapped in a situation.

The two pieces that Ms O'Connell read provided us with an understanding.

I might start with the Chairman's point. As a result of the recommendations of the group that examined direct provision, the Department of Education and Skills made a change while I was there. If a child had been at school in Ireland for three of the five years prior to doing the leaving certificate, he or she could attend college without paying international fees and would be eligible for Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, grants, etc. To answer the Chairman's question, we only dealt with people in the asylum system because we were implementing a direct recommendation, but there is no reason that the same should not apply to the children of undocumented families. The principle is the same, namely, the right of the child to access higher and further education. The committee should explore this possibility and bring something to the Department of Education and Skills.

The first round of questioning elicited a great deal of information, so we might move on to discussing what we can do to address what the witnesses have brought to us. The report of the previous justice committee to which Mr. Rojas Coppari referred could be circulated to us. I am sure that we could access it anyway.