Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

Education has been the main theme this week and the Acting Chairman, Deputy Kathleen Lynch, was kind to me last night during Private Members' business when I spoke of a school in my area. It is important that I support educational facilities in my region and I made the point, as did my colleagues, that there is an accommodation crisis in the Holy Rosary national school, Ballycragh. The Minister of State, Deputy Haughey, is here and I am anxious to stress to him that progress must be made on this matter.

I listened carefully to many of the contributions on the Student Support Bill and I think it will be important legislation. I am happy to see colleagues from all parties welcoming it and I hope it will pass through the Dáil easily. Many of the contributions have been very positive. Most Deputies have mentioned their constituencies and some have mentioned every street in their constituencies so I feel free to mention Tallaght a few times. I may also mention Firhouse, Greenhills, Templeogue, Brittas and Bohernabreena.

The purpose of this Bill is to provide for a unified grant payment scheme to replace the four existing schemes. It aims to place all student support schemes on a statutory footing for the first time and provides for awarding authorities to administer student grants in line with the provisions of the Bill. We should support this because all of us regularly see cases that relate to this Bill's remit in the course of our political business. At the eight clinics I hold throughout my constituency every week, but particularly at certain times of year, people come to me with concerns relating to the higher education grants scheme. My colleague, Deputy Cyprian Brady, also sees many such issues in his constituency.

There is always a challenge to ensure young people get places in third level education and we must be particularly active in this regard. Every constituency faces challenges but some, including Dublin South-West and other Dublin constituencies, need hard work from Deputies to ensure people get the opportunity to attend university.

I have told the Minister and Minister of State on a number of occasions that the problems many students and parents bring to us could be dealt with easily. One issue facing young people is that of third level places that are not available in the State and that force them to go abroad, particularly the UK. The Department should examine how such courses could be provided here because many Deputies meet young people who make this point every summer.

The Department faces a difficulty in dealing with returning emigrants. We have encouraged people and families to return to Ireland for many reasons, such as employment opportunities, but often those who return and wish to access third level education experience difficulties. The Department insists that such people must spend three years in the country before making an application but I feel we should approach this in a more commonsense way. The return of emigrants was formerly an issue that only affected the west but it now happens all over the country and I have recently seen many such cases in the Dublin region. The Department should examine this matter.

I am glad this Bill is before us because it gives us the opportunity to point out that students, particularly those who wish to access grants, should have as much support as possible. We must ensure that information is easily available. I was at a function for the opening of a citizens information centre, CIC, with the former Taoiseach, Mr. Garrett FitzGerald, not in Tallaght but in Crumlin, where I am from, and he made the point that many of the queries we get relate to the fact that the system does not work. There have been many improvements in this regard. I do not wish to embarrass the Minister of State but I have often said the Department of Social and Family Affairs is particularly good at disseminating information. There has also been much progress and reform in this regard in the Department of Education and Science. We must take every opportunity to point out that systems should be easy to access and that clients should be the focus of all schemes. People should be able to get information as easily and quickly as possible.

I was on a local authority in south Dublin from 1991 and I do not remember when I had to give up that position. I lament the fact that I had to leave the local authority and, as Deputy Tom Hayes will appreciate, most of the queries I receive still relate to local authority matters. However, time moves on and I am happy to be a TD. Local authorities and vocational education committees, VECs, have done a good job. I was a member of the County Dublin VEC from 1985 to 1991. This Bill attempts to bring about a tighter focus and I feel it will be supported because there is an issue relating to the ease with which students can access information.

I am bound to mention Tallaght in a debate like this. During the election a man told me that I am not really from Tallaght and I agreed. He asked how long I have lived in the area and I told him I have been there for 40 years. He responded "that is not long, is it?". The Tallaght I moved to needed many facilities, including educational facilities. While I was on the VEC I became a member, in 1990-91, of the interim board of the institute of technology, now known as the Institute of Technology, Tallaght, ITT, Dublin. This institution has a significant reputation nationally and I am glad progress has been made in this regard over the years.

Students at ITT come from many places and we tried to ensure as many people as possible, particularly local students, could access services and courses. I am glad to note that 2,400 full-time students and 1,400 part-time students were registered there last year. The Institute of Technology, Tallaght, has become a focus of attention in my town. I often point out that Tallaght is a city in all but name, with everything one would expect in a major centre of population. The institute of technology is part of local life and provides excellent educational facilities. I am glad that many Ministers and political personalities have visited the Institute of Technology, Tallaght, in recent times. As a local Deputy I feel I should highlight the importance of this college at every opportunity. I will not enter the argument on university status, as some colleagues do, because this is a matter for the future. I am proud of ITT and feel it is important that as many local people as possible can access its services. This is a relevant point to make in light of this Bill. Third level institutions and colleges around the country also attract people from my constituency. Many students from the country, including Tipperary and Cork, attend Tallaght IT and enjoy the facilities as well as the excellent classes. There is an issue about ensuring that Dublin South-West and every other constituency has access to education. I notice that the Sunday Independent listed me recently as having a university degree. I will out myself. I did not go to university. I attended school locally at Clarendon Street, the Christian Brothers in Synge Street and in Drimnagh. Also I did many part-time evening courses in industrial relations and public relations, although that does not show.

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