Áine Brady (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the opportunity to contribute to the debate on the Student Support Bill 2008, and I thank Deputy Kennedy for sharing his time with me.

I support the general principle of the Bill because it will provide for a single statutory basis for all student grants and replace the four different schemes currently operated by local authorities and VECs. Coming from a constituency that is home to an expanding third level institution, namely, NUI Maynooth, it gives me great insight into the challenges that students face when applying for grants. Since getting elected last May, I have had many students approach me with different issues and concerns relating to the grant application process. It is timely that we look at the application procedures and see how best we can streamline and improve the student grant process. We need to make it more user friendly for the students, the awarding bodies and the educational institutions.

The principal objective of the Bill is to create a more coherent and streamlined system for the administration of these grants, which will facilitate consistency of application and improved client accessibility. It will enable the development of an awards system that can deliver grants on time to those who need them most. The development of a unified system of student support, consolidating the existing four schemes for students attending higher education and post-leaving certificate courses, will greatly assist those embarking on higher and further education who need financial support. This Bill marks an important milestone in that process.Given the skills, experience and knowledge of the Vocational Education Committees, it is appropriate that they are given sole responsibility for the administration of student maintenance grants. The VEC sector brings with it a distinct and rich educational tradition in administering some of the existing grant schemes.

The proposals will reduce the number of grant awarding authorities from 66 to 33. Reducing the numbers of awarding authorities to this level will bring greater focus to the overall student grant schemes. It will also ensure that the VECs will become the experts in this area and future reform can be based on the experience they gain from their new expanded role. I have had problems with the strictness of the residency clause, particularly for mature students. I am delighted to see that the clause has been altered, although it is probably still a little too strict for mature students.

The checks and balances in the Bill merit mention. The Bill includes the introduction of a new independent appeals board, which will promote greater transparency in the grant-awarding process. The Bill also provides for the strengthening of the process whereby fraudulent claims can be rigorously pursued by an awarding authority. Substantial offences and penalties are set down, providing a firm basis to pursue those who have provided false or incomplete information to obtain a grant. Provision is also being made for transitional arrangements with the local authorities to smooth the process between the existing arrangements and the new arrangements.

The core objective of any change is to enable improvements in the standard of service provided to the 56,000 students around the country in receipt of grants, and to those potential further and higher education students considering their future options. For instance, NUI Maynooth has made significant strides in ensuring that under-represented groups are able to access third level education. In particular, mature students, travellers, students with a disability and students from socio-economic disadvantaged areas are encouraged to participate and engage in the opportunities a university education provides. I commend the Minister of State, Deputy Haughey, for the work he has done in the area of life-long learning. For each of these groups, the availability and timing of State financial support makes the difference between going to university or not. The introduction of this Bill will both endorse and continue to promote such equity in access.

Around €243 million was disbursed through the schemes in 2007, benefiting more than 56,000 students in further and higher education. Our challenge for the future is to ensure that we continue to make progress, in both the income limits for eligibility, and the actual grant levels for third level student support. We must continue to work to improve the standards for our students and in particular, to reduce the financial barriers that have long been recognised as a major disincentive for many students who wish to access third level education. The significant increases in the ordinary rate of the maintenance grant over recent years have made the third level option more affordable for a broad range of students and their families. In approving even higher increases in the special rate of the maintenance grant, we continue to target that support at those most in need and encourage access to further education for everyone.

I wish all those involved in the transitional arrangements the very best in moving from our current procedures to the more coherent and structured approach in awarding student grants, and I commend the Bill to the House.

See this speech in context