Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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We will get back to the Deputy on that. We recognise that the cost of living represents a pressure across every sector but the Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, review is ongoing. When that is completed, we will have a better handle on the matter. We have full employment and more people doing apprenticeships. We have made changes to the SUSI scheme. However, I would not be able to give the Deputy a holistic view on the exact reason for the fall in numbers.

On the flip side, we made extra places available in high-demand courses over recent years. The Higher Education Authority, HEA, has sought expressions of interest from our higher education institutions to put on new programmes for medicine, dentistry and nursing. There is a process.