Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael)

I, too, welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate on the Student Support Bill. It is long overdue legislation and a very welcome first step in the right direction. The Student Support Bill is due to come into effect from the next academic year, 2009-10, assuming the legislation is passed before the summer recess, which I sincerely hope happens. Under the existing system students are required to apply for grants through their local authorities and VECs. For years, many students have faced anxious waits to receive their grant payments, despite how small they are and have requested that grants in different counties be received at the same time, but there has been discrimination in the system. Students in some counties received their grants earlier than in others.

The current system consists of 66 bodies which dispense the grants, but this Bill will halve this number to 33. While I welcome this, we need to move towards a more centralised system to deal with the administration of grants, which will help us achieve economies of scale and maximum efficiencies. The Minister for Education and Science has stated that as a result of this Bill grants will be paid at a more timely rate and that long delays will become a thing of the past. This sounds very good and I hope the timeframes proposed on receipts of grants will be implemented. I still believe with the 33 VECs we will not achieve the maximum efficiency we want to achieve with this type of payment system. We should move ahead as soon as possible towards a fully centralised system.

Can the Minister guarantee that under the proposed new system all students will receive their grants in the same week? We are talking about 57,000 grant payments and there is investment of €5 million in a new computer system to make this happen. Confirmation that this will happen would be greatly appreciated. The current application form for a grant is long and complicated and I am glad a more simplified form will be introduced.

I also welcome the creation of an independent appeals body which will for the first time make it possible for students to appeal if they do not receive their grant. However, the waiting period of 45 days regarding a financial matter for a student is too long so we need to reduce that to 15 days, or 30 days at the very maximum. Many students are totally dependent and reliant on their grants. Despite how small the grant is, they need this money. I would like to see the timeframe for appeals pulled back. I note that 55 more staff will be required in the VECs to administer the grant scheme, yet 90 staff will no longer be needed at local authority level. What will happen with those staff? Where will they be redeployed?

Last July, the grant increased to €3,420 per annum. While most people would welcome an increase in the grant, it is a small amount in the first place. For anybody living in Dublin and having to pay rental income of at least €500 per month before bills and food, the money does not last long. In my constituency, Dublin North-East, I receive complaints about the length of time it takes to process the grants, the amount of red tape involved and the fact that the grant is too low and does not cover living expenses. Students have to take up part-time employment to cover their college expenses and that should not be the case.

The Union of Students in Ireland lobbied Deputies and Senators today and raised points such as the shortage of affordable rented accommodation for students, particularly in Dublin. We need to consider accommodation. There was a proposal that the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government set up a student accommodation task force. We on this side of the House would like to see that happen. There is a lack of high-quality accommodation for students. Affordable high-quality accommodation is the issue.

With regard to the standard of college education over the last number of years, investment has certainly decreased and if it were not for the likes of philanthropists such as Chuck Feeney our universities would be even further behind. I welcome this Bill and hope it will be passed before the summer recess. There is a lot done but there is certainly a lot more to do.

See this speech in context