Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour)

I do not intend to speak for the allotted 20 minutes, although perhaps when I start, I will speak for that long or even longer.

I welcome this Bill. We have been continuously asking for its introduction in the past few years because there was such a clear need for it. All Deputies would like to see more provisions in the Bill but, nevertheless, the fact that it is regularising how grants are dealt with is very welcome.

As with Deputy McGinley, my own experience of student grant applications has been of people coming to me in desperation with a tome of pages to be filled out and finding it very difficult to work their way through the maze of questions. I often wondered if they would be able to fill it out at the end of their third level education, never mind at the start of it. It was incredibly difficult for people, especially on their first time approaching it, although it got easier in subsequent years.

It must be said that local authorities have struggled with the student grants area for many years. The local authority that I would be most familiar with is Cork City Council, which set two people aside every year to deal solely with grant queries. Those people were well versed in the legislation and understood the various categories in operation. They were extremely helpful to people who had difficulties. There were times when there were questions that I could not answer as a public representative and I would send people to the council staff. They were very forthcoming and if there was a way of obtaining the information requested that was not too much of an encumbrance, they would do so. That must be said.

Streamlining the process will be an advantage to the local authorities, the VEC, students and their parents. However, there are other actions that must be taken to support students. I have listened to all of the contributions in today's debate because this is an issue in which I have a deep interest. The notion of even contemplating the reintroduction of third level fees would be a retrograde step. I have regularly heard arguments in favour of such a move. However, with regard to most of the people that I represent, when something is means tested, it is usually people who are within the tax net that get caught. There are people in this country who can move money around, who have great wealth and still qualify for a grant. I am not one to argue that people should not get something because they are not entitled to it but there must be a tightening up of the system. The people who need a grant most are sometimes the very ones who are just outside the scope. They are the people who will be caught if fees are reintroduced. I do not care what level it is pitched at, they are the people who will be caught eventually.

Deputies also spoke about sponsorship of third level, which worries me terribly. Education should be about producing a person that is whole. It should be about producing someone who has an interest in all of life. I acknowledge that one must specialise at some point and I know areas like the sciences are particularly important. First and foremost, however, education should be about ensuring that people have a view of the world that is both questioning and inquisitive. I am not terribly concerned about sponsorship by public bodies but about businesses sponsoring third level education. They are doing so for a reason and with a particular viewpoint. They are sponsoring third level institutions in order to push them in a particular direction and that is not a good idea. I am in favour of people who have lots of money to spare giving it to universities. However, they should give to the universities and allow them to use it as they see fit.

There are now more people attending third level than ever before, for a variety of reasons. First, the economy has never been better and parents were not dependent on their children to go out and earn. Second, students do not have to pay third level fees anymore. If one examines the numbers of people attending third level now, in addition to what we always had, it is those who up to this point could not afford it who are now attending. Deputy McGinley is correct in pointing out that such people were not less intelligent or incapable of securing the necessary points. They simply could not afford to attend third level. The problem was not just the fees, but the entire support structure for students. Families could not afford to allow children to continue on in education.

There are a number of other issues which must be dealt with if we are serious about supporting people in third level education. The Minister must examine the issue of fees for part-time courses. The assumption that people doing part-time courses are working is false. They might be doing a part-time course because they have young children or because that is all they can manage at present. We should not assume they are all working and can, therefore, afford to pay the fees. Most cannot and this issue must be tackled.

Accommodation is another area of concern. If one were to visit University College Cork or the Cork Institute of Technology, one would find that, because of a lack of purpose-built accommodation, entire neighbourhoods are now rented out to students. The accommodation is unregulated and unsupervised and neighbourhoods have been destroyed because of it. That does not benefit either residents or students. Students like to be with their own peer group and that is as it should be. We were all like that when we were young. Students are entitled to good, reasonably priced accommodation in a safe environment. We do not have enough of that type of accommodation. A student accommodation board must be put in place to re-examine this issue. Major inroads were made into student accommodation a number of years ago through the section 51 tax incentives, which were very welcome. However, they are not sufficient. The policing of the scheme also needs to be examined.

The Bill is a long time coming but it is very welcome and no one will say otherwise. I hope it will be in place for the 2009-10 academic year. While I am preaching to the converted, anything relating to third level is time constrained. As long as the Minister delays, cohorts of people will go through the system who will not benefit from this legislation. I met an articulate group of USI students in Buswells Hotel earlier of whom we should be proud. They highlight what our system can produce but it could do better. Certain actions need to and should be taken.

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