Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)

On student contributions, why must students pay for the salaries of the 99 people in the third level institutions earning more than €200,000? School capitation grants are being reduced by 2%. This will result in parents having to take to the streets to collect money to keep their children in school. Postgraduate maintenance support is also being abolished. It is to be phased out. This will affect people wishing to reskill in order to get back to work. Many people need that maintenance grant if they are to complete their postgraduate degrees.

The Minister must also help in this regard.

In respect of health, the Minister has increased the charges pertaining to the drugs refund scheme, as people will be obliged to pay an additional €12 per month. Again, this is small beans to the Minister, amounting to an additional €150 per annum, but this measure genuinely is unfair. From the Minister's perspective, a positive point is that his spin-doctors won, in that the cuts are not that obvious until one reads the small print and the Minister has been very clever in ensuring it will be difficult to see them immediately. In respect of social welfare, I note the Minister also intends to hit the qualified child allowance. He also effectively will cut jobseeker's benefit by changing the basis to a five-day week and is making it harder for 16-year olds who have a disability to get their benefits.

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