Paul Kehoe (Wexford, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have number of questions for Mr. Kearney but I will come back to those in a while.

I was canvassing during the by-election on Monday or Tuesday of this week. I knocked on the door of a 19-year-old who is his first year in a third level institution. He recognised my face and knew that our witnesses were attending today. He was very well tuned in and had a great interest in politics. He has been learning online since September of last year. I asked him whether he had met many of his colleagues and he replied that he was there for the induction day and had met a small number of people from his class. He said that he was looking forward and could not wait to get to the third level college. He said that he only knows two people with whom he would be quite friendly in the third level institution who were in his class or lecture at present and that he was very apprehensive about going back to college. This was a very confident guy and I was amazed at how honest he was with me. He asked me to put the following points to our three witnesses. He said that if he was going into first year, he would get the tender loving care, TLC, of the college and all that involves but now this TLC will have to be given to both the first and second years. That will be a very great challenge. I am not certain if the colleges have chaplaincy services or what the position is in that regard. Our witnesses have been involved in this sector for many years and would be able to pick out the shy students or those who might be struggling or whatever the case may be.

The other issue raised was that those going to college usually want to stay on campus for the first year to find their feet. They probably are far more confident in their second year to go and live off-campus. There will be first year students looking for accommodation on campus. Will many second year students be looking for on-campus accommodation or how will that be managed? Are second year students allowed on campus or is there a lower percentage of these students on campus?

What are the witnesses' views on this student’s point of view as outlined by me and how will they face this challenge that lies ahead? He asked me to put those questions to our witnesses and I expect that there are thousands of students out there, some may be shyer than others, who feel apprehensive about going to college in September, even though they are in second year.