Martin Ferris (Kerry North, Sinn Fein)

After years of a fragmented grants system that has led to late payments and utterly confused students and after long-standing, justifiable criticism of the current student grants system, I welcome the belated publication of this Student Support Bill. It should be acknowledged, however, that a considerable number of students have dropped out due to the delay in its publication. Due to the lack of something similar to this Bill, gifted young people have been unable to avail of a full education.

The Minister for Education and Science has stated that the objective of this Bill is to modernise and rationalise the student support scheme. This would, she says, give effect to the programme for Government commitment to introduce the payment of maintenance grants through a unified and flexible grant payment scheme. Many have called for this over the years and I welcome its place in the Bill.

The Bill aims to do this by replacing the existing four different grant schemes with a single unified system that sets out to streamline and simplify the process of grants applications. According to the Union of Students in Ireland, the Bill represents a substantial improvement and a major step forward for students who depend on receiving timely grant payments.

While it is a welcome improvement, there is, unfortunately, little in the Bill in its current state that will have any great impact on students. Most importantly the Bill fails to centralise the grants system at a national level. This would be the best way to maximise efficiency. One of the major issues relating to the grants system is that of late payments to students. Very often students get into debt, work too many hours and under-perform at exams or drop out because they did not get the grants they were promised within the crucial first six weeks of the term. I doubt there is a Deputy in the House who, over the years, has not encountered students who dropped out due to delays in grant payments.

The Bill seeks to transfer the administration of grants to the VECs, but whether this will solve the problem of late payments remains to be seen. It should aim to cut delays in grant payments and cut administrative errors and I hope this is the outcome. The Bill should be a stepping stone towards the full centralisation of the grants application system. It should deal with the need to increase the amounts paid out in grants, which are currently far below what a person would need to support himself or herself, taking into account accommodation, of which there is no mention in the Bill, transport and other general living expenses.

The maintenance grants scheme at present caters only for the day-to-day costs of pursuing higher education. It fails to take into consideration the often huge costs of course equipment and child care, something that too often represents a major barrier to access and participation, particularly for mature students, lower income groups and single parents. This has made it almost impossible for those in lower income groups and single parents to break free of the poverty trap. I am greatly concerned by the fact that the Bill does not address this matter.

The issue of accommodation is hugely worrying and it is disappointing that the Bill makes absolutely no reference to it. It is a matter that continues to cause massive problems, especially for students studying far from home. For instance, at UCD's Merville student residence, the current cost of accommodation stands at €3,953 for 38 weeks, from 4 September to 30 May, not including electricity or meals. I doubt whether those coming from backgrounds involving unemployment and low incomes could avail of a full education, given such costs. A person will only be able to meet such costs if he or she gets a job next to his or her place of study which he or she can marry with his or her education.

The costs are enormous. A huge amount of money is involved for any student starting out in third level education, often forcing them to take out a loan or take on a job outside college, which can damage their studies. Currently, nobody is taking responsibility for this issue. We are unclear whether it is a local government or a Department of Education and Science issue and that matter needs to be clarified.

The Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Deputy Gormley, promised to establish a task force to deal with the issue of student accommodation but this has not materialised. The House deserves to know why.

The Bill makes no reference to part-time students of which there are 35,000 in the State. The Minister said they will be provided for through ministerial orders. We see no difference between full and part-time students and we do not understand why the Bill makes them distinct groups. It is an education and a facility that should be in place right across the board.

In the programme for Government, the Government promised it would introduce a new system of means tested free fees for approved part-time courses which, according to the Department of Education and Science, would be piloted in certain areas in September. Why is this not included in the Bill? That is another deficit.

The establishment of an independent appeals board is a welcome and progressive development and something which should gain support. However, the length of time a student must wait for the board to reach its decision is far too long. The 90-day period of deliberation is needless and excessive. A student simply cannot wait that long for a decision if he or she is that dependent. We see no reason that an appeal cannot be decided in three weeks or less. The Union of Students in Ireland raised this issue recently. Surely, as the main body of student representatives on this island, it should have been consulted on this major issue. If not, I ask why and call for the issue to be readdressed as soon as possible.

As I have already stated, this Bill is a welcome improvement on the system in place. However, unless the issues I have raised are taken on board, there is little in the Bill that will be of any benefit to students applying for a grant. While I welcome any efforts to address this serious problem facing students, I fear this Bill merely scratches the surface.

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