Mary Butler (Waterford, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I agree with Ms Hoey that there is a correlation there between the amount of work a student has to do and level of success at exams. Students do have to work though. There is no doubt about that.

I am from the constituency of Waterford. Everyone else is from Limerick. We do not have a university in Waterford. We have a fantastic institute of technology, but many students travel to Cork and Limerick. My own daughter is studying in Limerick at the moment and many of the students there work part-time while studying. They can work back where they live during the summer and at Christmas, but that could cause a problem if they are not staying for a length of time in any area. They are in college from September until December and then they might work at home for a month, so the service will be broken. Will that cause a problem if it is more than six months, if it is 18 months before one can get their contract, as the Government suggested?