James O'Connor (Cork East, Fianna Fail)
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That is very insightful. Given the scale of the money involved, however, at what stage of that year would it have become apparent that that type of funding was becoming available and that there was such an underspend? Was there any conversation with the Minister or any of her Government colleagues in relation to that pot basically remaining unspent?

I do not need to reiterate it but it is worth referencing once more that this particular fund makes such a huge impact on students and their families, in particular to those who require it. The fund is a targeted pot of money totalling €105 million. I want to get an appreciation of what stage of the year it was apparent there would be an underspend. I accept the premise about it being a time of uncertainty. Dr. O'Reardon stated it was a direct consequence of Government intervention. Surely it would have arisen that this might occur prior to that decision when they were scoping out what could be done.