Michael D Higgins (Galway West, Labour)

I am very happy the Minister of State is here to reply but I must say how disappointed I am that the Minister for Education and Science or the Minister with responsibility did not find it worthwhile to remain in the House to reply in so far as both voted a few minutes ago on the Finance Bill.

I feel I should speak very straight about this. The matter I raise calls into question whether words mean anything. In the debates on the budget and the Finance Bill I heard the suggestion that those who have lost their jobs, those who are unemployed, in particular young people of whom one in three is out of work, are to be encouraged to go back to education. This is the greatest hypocrisy I could possibly instance.

I am speaking about the back to education allowance. The way it worked was that a person going on an access course had to be on the jobseeker's allowance. That was one hoop through which a person had to jump. In addition, the back to education allowance was means tested. The group to which I refer have qualified under both hoops, are in third level and their allowances will continue. People in the future will only receive one allowance. There are a group of people already on an access course and who went through both tests in the clear understanding that these allowances would enable them to return to education and they have been cut off arbitrarily.

The policy seems to be that while they are welcomed back to education, they will have to pick themselves up and make sure they are ready to go back, which is why they are being asked to go through an access course and make sure they will be able to stay in a college - the case to which I refer concerns the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology. When they are on the access course the rug is pulled from under them and they are told they will not receive the back to education allowance. That is happening and it is why a great number of the people concerned sent me a signed letter saying they understood the difficulties in the economy - they put it much more politely than I am. I am putting it rather bluntly because I am sick and tired of the hypocrisy of suggesting that we are asking people to return to education when obstacles are being placed in their way. The people concerned asked, politely and simply, if those in mid-stream could be allowed to get that which they expected. That is not on offer.

Last year 30,000 young people who wanted to take post leaving certificate courses were turned away. This year two people will apply for every place available in a third level college. We are constantly hearing the notion that we are encouraging people to return to education. Some people on the list I have in front of me are tradespeople. The Minister of State, who is here as a proxy, is from the west and knows that the largest number of males who are unemployed are young construction workers who want to return to education and are having their allowances cut. I do not want a long rigmarole from the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Deputy Hanafin, or anybody else.

The issue of jobseekers allowance is interesting. If a person was not on a contract but a company wanted to string him or her along by saying it might have more hours for him or her, on that basis, the Department of Social and Family Affairs could refuse a young person the right to return to education, something which happened this week. Let us be honest. If the Government says it is in favour of young people being driven onto the live register and reducing the minimum wage, and saying it is going through the motions, people should be exposed on it. However, the group of people to which I refer are on an access course in the expectation that they were entitled to both allowances. One allowance was arbitrarily withdrawn while they were on the access course. This is scandalous. I know a lot about this issue.

This evening the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy O'Keeffe, the Minister for Social and Family Affairs, Deputy Hanafin and the Minister of State with responsibility for this area were in the Chamber and left after voting on the Finance Bill. I hope the young people to which I refer and every other young person calls the bluff of this Government.

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