Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)

I, too, seek the adjournment of the Dáil under Standing Order 32 to discuss the following matter of urgent national importance, namely, the need for the Minister for Education and Science to take immediate steps to resolve the difficulties in VECs and local authorities across the State whereby, due to the unprecedented number of student grant applications, the recruitment embargo placed on both bodies and the unavailability of overtime, many students must wait until January to receive their first student grant payments; and due to the delay on student grant payments, many students are defaulting on rent, unable to purchase vital college books, equipment and supplies, and many students currently attending third level institutions are not registered leaving them without access to crucial services such as libraries. There is clearly no prospect of us ever achieving a smart economy while we shamefully neglect this critical human capital resource.

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