Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fianna Fail)

I congratulate the Minister on introducing this Bill. Its changes will ensure awards to our third level students will favour both students and their parents. Grant applications will be approved and paid in a more efficient and timely manner. This will reassure young people entering third level education and allow them to concentrate on their studies from the beginning of the academic year. A child heading to college can be a strange time for parents, as it is usually his or her first time away from home. It is important they have the financial security from knowing at an early stage that a third level grant will be paid.

The unification of four different grant schemes into one comprehensive scheme will ensure the whole process is more efficient and that the system can respond in a more timely fashion. This reduction in red tape will be of benefit to both administrators and students. I fully agree with the Minister on this and commend the Minister on the introduction of a one-stop shop for grants. There are VEC offices in every county town. The staff in the Sligo VEC office are very helpful, as are the staff in the county council, but there was total confusion there. People did not know where to go. Now, at least, the system will be streamlined. There will be just one office and the same people will deal with everybody.

Under this new system the VECs will oversee the administration of grants. In effect, the number of authorities responsible for awarding grants will be halved, from 66 to 33. The Bill also makes several provisions that will improve transparency, such as the ability to transfer functions away from a VEC that is not performing. It also gives the Minister the power to request a VEC to inform applicants of decisions within a certain timeframe. Furthermore, the process will be open to reviews and audits and an appeals process will be put in place. These provisions guarantee students and their families a certain degree of customer service, which is to be welcomed. The demands of college life are enough for students without the undue burden of worrying about when grant applications will be processed.

Changes to the grant system in recent times have meant that third level is now a realistic option for many more young people. There are 140,000 students in full-time third level education, which is more than three times the number in 1980. Of these, more than one third are receiving financial assistance from the State. This is a remarkable achievement. The changes to the income limits will attract more students from disadvantaged and less well off backgrounds to third level colleges. For this academic year, the income limits for maintenance grants have been extended so that students from families on a moderate wage of up to €48,355 will not have to pay the student charge of €825. The higher rate student grant, at €6,690, is now more than three times the 1997 level of €2,000.

The means test is in need of consideration. As Deputy Dooley mentioned, and as I know from experience in dealing with constituents, there are people whose incomes in the year their children start college are not the same as they were in the previous year, which is the one assessed for means testing purposes. This should be reconsidered. Incomes change, and if a person is off work due to illness, for example, in the year the student starts college, that student should certainly qualify for a grant. The programme for Government includes a commitment to establish a new system of means-tested free fees for approved part-time courses. I look forward to seeing the implementation of this commitment. It will provide an opportunity for many people who missed out on the college experience the first time around to attend a third level facility to retrain and improve their job prospects.

I recently had queries from some constituents about Open University courses. I wonder whether the Minister might consider changes in this area. There are many mature students who would like to avail of these courses, but they can be very expensive. The Department might consider some means by which these students could be facilitated, such as part-payment of the course fees.

I acknowledge the great strides that have been made in the last ten years in third level education. The provision of an extra 45,000 college places since 1997 is worth mentioning. Sligo IT, in my constituency, has benefited from this, with the student population jumping by 36% during this period. More young people than ever are receiving a third level education and these highly skilled graduates are in no small way responsible for making this country an attractive place to do business. It is only fitting that we should support them as much as we can.

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