Cyprian Brady (Dublin Central, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to discuss this Bill which is relatively short but, in terms of future progress, important to our localities and the country. Its purpose is to provide for the making of grants to enable students to attend higher and further education courses. Its main objective is to create a more coherent system for grant administration. Currently, there are four means-tested schemes. I compare this matter to the need for a treaty on an expanded European Union, as the education grants system has expanded significantly and our population of young people has increased dramatically during the years. Given these factors, streamlining the system is timely. The higher education grants scheme is one of the four schemes and administered by local authorities. In some cases, implementing it has proved difficult and has led to a number of issues. The remaining schemes are administrative and managed by the vocational education committees.

The Bill will enable the development of an awards system to deliver grants on time to those who need them most. As public representatives, we have all encountered particular higher education grant cases that revolved around misunderstandings on the part of officials or mistakes on the part of applicants. When the time comes to apply for grants, there are always issues. Given that grants could make the difference between an individual attending or not attending a third level or further education course, their importance cannot be underestimated. The Bill provides for the streamlining of all grants in order that the payment of maintenance grants will be provided for through a unified grants payment scheme under the umbrella of the VECs, an issue I will address shortly. It will also reduce the number of grant awarding authorities from 66 to 33, an amazing streamlining of the system, improve efficiency and consistency and ensure those who apply for grants will be considered within appropriate timeframes and those who are eligible will receive payments promptly. The granting of funds under the schemes can make the difference between a person continuing his or her education or losing out, in some cases due to administrative failures.

The Bill will introduce service level improvements, including guaranteed timeframes for more timely payment of grants and more efficient arrangements for handling applications, making it easier to apply and for grants to be paid. The Bill will make a significant contribution to promoting greater equity of access to further and higher education, as alluded to by previous speakers. The student grant schemes are central to our national strategy for equity of access and support more than 56,000 students attending further and higher education courses. Eligible students attending approved full-time third level courses or approved PLC courses who satisfy the prescribed conditions of the schemes in respect of age, residence, nationality, means and previous academic attainment are awarded grants. Given the increase in numbers in the past 15 to 20 years and the fact that so many are in a position to continue on to further education courses, we need a scheme and framework that can cater for the numbers involved and supply a service to which people are entitled to expect.

Student grants represent an important strategic investment in people. Personal wealth should not be a barrier to education. The House has often debated how people are included in or excluded from access to education. In my short time in the House I have noticed that we spend much time discussing education matters, a significant area for all Deputies. Given that we have taken considerable strides forward, some of the comments from the other side of the House amaze me because they are always negative. During this discussion the funding of education, in particular, has been raised. The majority of Deputies have gone through the education system. When I was in school, there were raffles and sales of work. These fund-raising functions were organised to raise funds for charities or specific items for the school and are not a new phenomenon. Having listened to some of the comments made, one would imagine that no progress has been made, but we should accept that considerable strides forward have been taken and move on. There will always be areas in need of further investment and in respect of which improvements can be made.

The only education providers in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s were the religious orders. There was no investment in education, in either buildings or people, and this continued under successive Governments for some time. Huge strides forward then were made in respect of how education is considered and the importance of education in providing choices for people entering their early teens and young adulthood.

This links into the improvements that have been made in adult education in respect of giving people a second chance. The National College of Ireland is one of the institutions located in my constituency and it has proved to be a huge success there. As one of its philosophies, it has the concept of life long learning, that is, from birth to death one is learning continually. People should be given an opportunity to continue so doing throughout their lives.

Student grants represent an important investment in people. Such grants provide the means for individuals to achieve their full potential. This is our way of supporting a socially inclusive society that enables us to increase substantially the pool of highly skilled and qualified graduates who are needed to maintain our competitiveness and to sustain the economic progress that we have experienced. We must invest further in fourth level education to remain competitive and the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Hanafin, has a particular interest in this regard.

Government Members have long realised that Ireland must continue and make progress in this regard. Those who stand still are going backwards in the competitive global economy in which we compete. Given the advances we have made in technology, pharmaceuticals and research and development in particular, further investment in fourth level education certainly will prove successful in maintaining our competitiveness and the impact that Ireland has made as a relatively small country on the periphery of Europe. During a discussion that took place last night on software and information technology industries, it was noted that as a small country we compete with the US, India and China in respect of the supply and production of software. For four or five years from the late 1990s to the early 2000s, Ireland was the world's leading producer of software, which is a great testament to the quality of the people who leave our educational institutions.

Financial barriers have long been recognised as a major disincentive for many students who wish to access third level education and I see this phenomenon day in and day out. Deputy O'Connor mentioned this in respect of Tallaght and the position is similar in the constituency of Dublin Central, particularly in its inner city areas. Financial barriers always have been an issue and have been a barrier to people moving on and making choices. This has changed and continues to change in many of Dublin's socially deprived areas. I refer to the difference in the confidence shown by young children who are leaving school at present as a direct result of the investment made in our educational system at primary, secondary and third levels. The difference such investment has made in some of the aforementioned areas is startling.

The significant increases in the ordinary rate of maintenance grant in recent years have made the third level option more affordable for a broad range of students and their families. In my constituency, such grants have enabled students from working class areas to achieve their full potential. Without such grants, these individuals would not have the financial means to engage in third level education. Some valuable programmes also have been introduced by many of the institutions and private concerns in the area I represent. One that struck me in particular is the scheme that has been under way since the establishment of the financial services centre in Dublin 1 and the docklands area. It has encouraged students to go on to third level education and several companies in the Irish Financial Services Centre have sponsored individual students. I take this opportunity to acknowledge the great work they are doing.

The increase in students attending second and third level education has been remarkable in disadvantaged areas, particularly within the constituency I represent. Grants have acted as an incentive to encourage these individuals into education. I refer to areas of the city that experienced generations of unemployment and were socially deprived over successive generations. There was a complete lack of investment in infrastructure, facilities and schools and the changes that have taken place recently have made a great difference to such districts. Two years ago in one such area, 15 young people completed their leaving certificate examinations in a school for the first time, which was a great achievement in that area. Those young people went on to a fast-track programme into apprenticeships and at present, 12 of the 15 are in full employment in various locations throughout the city. This exemplifies the change that has taken place as a direct result of some of the initiatives that have been taken.

Major improvements have been made by the Government in both the income limits for eligibility and the actual grant levels for third level student support. For the current academic year 2007-08 the reckonable income limits for ordinary maintenance grants was increased by 3.5%. This increase exceeds the increase in the average industrial wage for the September to September period. The top limit for grant eligibility where there are less than four dependent children has been increased from €46,700 to €48,355, ensuring that a significantly higher number of students from households with moderate incomes will not have to pay the student service charge of €825.

While this might seem small in relative terms, this can make a huge difference to a family that is trying to ensure its children, whether there are two, three, four or whatever number, get the best options regarding their education. This constitutes another change that has taken place in many districts and is particularly evident in my constituency, where parents now are more aware of the value and importance of education for their children. In some cases, those parents may not have had such opportunities. They may not even have completed their junior certificate in some cases, certainly not their leaving certificates, and are not in a position to assist their children. However, many existing schemes encourage parents to become more involved, thereby becoming involved themselves in the learning process, as they try to assist their children to continue in education. This is to be greatly welcomed because in some cases, generations of families have had no access to second, let alone third, level education. The existence of such programmes, which will assist those people to move on themselves, is to be greatly welcomed.

In addition, more than 13,300 students in receipt of the special rate of maintenance grant are benefiting from an even more substantial increase of over 14%. The higher rate of this grant is now at a record level of €6,690 for the present academic year, compared with just over €2,000 in 1996-97.

One must consider the manner in which Ireland's demographics and population are changing. The substantial increase in the number of places at third level in the past 20 years was one of the critical cornerstones of our overall national economic strategy. Furthermore, the availability and supply of substantial numbers of highly qualified graduates contributed significantly to Ireland's much-improved economic circumstances. All Members have heard the phrase pertaining to our well-educated young workforce and this factor has been highly significant in attracting foreign direct investment. One should consider how the numbers have changed recently. Full-time enrolments have grown in third level from just under 41,000 in 1980 to almost 140,000 at present. The entry rate to higher education has grown from 20% of 17 to 18 year olds in 1980 to a present rate of approximately 55.5%. More than half of school leavers continue on to third level education, a dramatic change in comparison to the position ten or 15 years ago. I recall a lecture given by the Governor of Mountjoy Prison, Mr. John Lonergan, in which he described the relevance of a person's postal address to his or her chances of going to prison. The relationship between where a person comes from and the population of Mountjoy Prison was startling. I do not doubt that the investment made in recent years will improve the lot of many of the young people who grow up in these areas. As issues will continue to arise in terms of individuals slipping through the net, we have to provide supports and proper programmes to ensure we minimise the number of such individuals. We will take huge strides if we continue the progress and investments made. The Minister of State, Deputy Haughey, and the Minister, Deputy Hanafin, have a particular interest in maintaining this progress.

The main objectives in implementing change are to enable improvements to the services provided for the 56,000 students in receipt of grants and the second level and mature students considering their future options and to ensure public confidence in an award system which delivers grants on time to those who need them most. The Bill will prove successful in making the system more efficient in providing grants on time. We have all experienced cases where people missed deadlines. Colleges are not in a position to change their regulations to cater for individuals owing to the numbers with which they have to deal. By reducing the number of grant awarding bodies from 66 to 33 and giving the VECs which have played a vital role in improving education full control of the system, the Bill will ensure grants are paid on time to those who are entitled to receive them. It will also maintain an even balance for people, whether they are from marginalised or affluent areas.

See this speech in context