Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)

The Department is imposing new penalties on mature students and other students in terms of new criteria for grants. If it went after the universities for greater efficiencies and savings, it could find a significant amount of the €30 million in grant reductions for third level students. If the Department tackled the issue in the context of previous reports of the Comptroller and Auditor General in regard to contact time between academics and their students, significant savings could be made. Is it not a fact that until and unless the Department stands up and insists that its writ runs and nobody else's, this abuse in the universities will continue?

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