Brendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)

When the Minister has a finite number of postgraduate students who will be funded, what will happen to people who meet the income criteria but will be No. 2,001 on the list? I regularly read the statements of the Minister of State in his capacity with responsibility for research and development, where he speaks in glowing terms about the success of the major investment in the past decade in research and development. That investment has proved very successful. Many of the projects the Minister of State launched today are the result of investment going back some years, which create jobs for our people. Has the Minister of State engaged with the major corporations and major indigenous companies in getting more placements for our postgraduate students? The Minister of State knows many of the firms with successful postgraduate programmes and placements. If this could be accelerated and improved, with greater impetus, it might facilitate some of the people who do not qualify for assistance with fees and maintenance from September 2012.

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