Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations. As has been said already, core funding is the issue here. Too many working families in particular are still excluded from many supports for their children to go to third level. That is the major problem and I appreciate that it is not something that can be addressed by the witnesses who are before the committee today. I am not going to repeat everything as I agree with almost everything that has been said here this morning. I accept everything that the USI says and support all its recommendations apart from the issue of grants to the nine private institutions. I do not buy into that particular idea, but everything else needs to be supported.

The representative from ISSU made a good point in relation to PLC courses. I have come across families who have suffered because of that. What enrages us most about applications in our office in Limerick is the way parents are treated as dependants, which has been mentioned already.

I appreciate that Mr. Connolly cannot deal with matters of policy. I just want to put on record that this is extremely frustrating. It is also particularly discriminatory against women. Government needs to look at it. It does not make any sense, as we all know. It needs fundamental change. We have heard about the holiday earnings restrictions, which make no sense in today's environment. Students have to work more than those core weeks just to survive, get through college and pay the rent. A common-sense approach and more flexibility are required. I want to echo a point about direct provision, particularly after the happenings in the west yesterday evening. It is just outrageous and so offensive that people in direct provision are effectively excluded from third level education. I do not believe anyone on this panel would support that exclusion. There is great frustration that nothing is done about it. I welcome the fact the ISSU is supporting the call to end direct provision. I thank the witnesses for their really important presentations and for their time.