Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)

Has the Minister proposals in hand to increase the age limits for those who may apply under the vocational scheme? The current age is 23 and there are strong rumours to the effect that this will be increased to 25. Even with the age 23 limit, both parents' incomes must be taken into account. Some of those with whom I have spoken are mothers of two or three children who left their family homes a long time ago, yet they must track down their parents or get them to fill in a form as part of their applications. Is the Minister examining this issue in terms of the accessibility of the scheme? While the age threshold may have been sensible eight years ago, it appears antiquated given new types of family formation and so forth. We should encourage, rather than discourage, this group of people to enter education.

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