Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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No, it is okay. I am concerned that caps are being put on the funding for some of the colleges, and I have been made aware that students have been told they will only get half as much as they got last year. I spoke with the Minister, Deputy Simon Harris, about this previously. Some of the colleges in the west were told this. It is of concern to me. Also, we need to be careful around how we announce this funding when we announce an additional allocation. For example, last year we had €17.2 million and the allocation to the fund this year was €18.2 million. When announcing that there is additionality, I believe we need to enable colleges to plan. It is very difficult for colleges to plan and for student unions to plan around what they have. We are announcing it and then we are raising expectations as if there are additions there all of the time, but there is not. I note what the Minister of State said about the other years before Covid, but when we consider the past two years, there is not the additionality of the €8 million there. It is something we need to be conscious of.