Dr. Darragh Flannery:

Some of the issues raised by Deputy Catherine Martin overlapped with those raised by Senator Ruane. The Deputy stated that education is an investment. It strikes me that the loan system treats education like an investment because the people who get the most return from the investment are the ones who end up paying back. The people who do not get a return on the investment do not pay back the investment. They are inherently guarded by the system, which is income contingent by nature.

The implications for a stay-at-home parent were mentioned a couple of times. A stay at home parent can be insulated by putting an income threshold in place and if their income is below that, they will be accommodated. If people make that choice from a household or any other point of view, this higher education funding mechanism would ensure that they would not face these repayments simply by making that choice.