Mr. Joe O'Connor:

The figures for the overall budgetary adjustment started out at approximately €44 million but shot upwards from several different elements. One of these relates to redress payments for the victims of clerical abuse. While this issue must be addressed, we are concerned that the children of the future will be made to pay for the sins of the past if some of these cuts come about as a result of that saving. Although obviously there will be pain in this budget, the difference between €2.5 billion and €3.1 billion is significant in the context of a maximum of €100 million savings in education. This is why I am advocating that education is an investment to the State that must be prioritised in this budget.

I have no wish to get into the political argument around this but the reality is that people in the USI this year are not concerned with what has happened in previous years or budgets. There is no doubt that under the last couple of Governments, measures have been carried out which have greatly affected our members. Although longer-term debates on third level funding and so on must be worked through, we are convinced that protecting the maintenance grant is the only way to protect the most vulnerable people we represent and that is why we are keen to get that message across strongly.

In reply to Deputy Charlie McConalogue's questions about the student assistance fund, I have been involved in the GMIT students' union for the past three years, a college in which more than half of the students are on maintenance grants and from lower socio-economic backgrounds. The demand in both colleges in Galway - NUIG and GMIT - has more than doubled in the past two years. The average payment to a recipient of that fund has decreased quite significantly. In order to address the demand which, without doubt, will be there this year and given the increasing strain on families and the lower level of student supports, the €3 million which was set aside last year to make up a total allocation of €11 million for the payment, while it will still lead to a very difficult situation for colleges, is the absolute minimum that must be provided to ensure the fund can continue to operate in the way it has, by protecting people from falling off the bottom who are only just about able to remain in college.

On the point about SUSI, it is our experience that the vast majority of colleges operate with a deadline of 31 October for payment of the student contribution charge. The level of efficiency in processing applications by SUSI during the next month will have an impact. Many students will not have received their grants before the deadline date. I will ask the HEA to ensure flexibility in order that these students can avail of services in their colleges. Last year saw a significant issue arising with regard to students who were not fully registered and not considered qualified to apply for the student assistance fund. Students who were temporarily registered under the SUSI system while awaiting their grant were initially not considered qualified to apply for the student assistance fund, even though they badly needed assistance, until a further directive was sent from the HEA. The same arrangement will need to be put in place this year.