Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)

The pledge was not worth the paper on which it was written. The Minister signed up to a commitment not to re-introduce third level fees and committed to reducing student fees. Neither occurred.

To add insult to that injury, the Government will make it more difficult for people from the self-employed sector and rural families to get student grants to help them to attend college. In March 2011, the Minister nailed his colours to the mast when he spoke to the Irish Farmers' Journal. He stated: "Up until now there has been a bias towards the self-employed and the agricultural community who were able to quite frankly manipulate their income in a manner in which they could, or their children could, avail of grants". It is this bias that allowed the Government to decide in the last budget to include farm assets in the means testing for third level grants from 2013. This will discriminate against the children of farm families and, in these recessionary times, against the families of the self-employed, who are under severe financial pressure.

The Minister should be aware of the facts. The average income of many farmers is less than €20,000 per annum. The decision, if implemented by Fine Gael and Labour, will put third level education beyond the reach of many people in those particular sectors. Does the Minister not agree that eligibility should be based on income alone and not include the value of capital assets, as the latter does not give a true picture of income or ability to pay? The Government and the Minister admitted the mistakes made in respect of DEIS schools. I ask him to give the same consideration to this issue with a view to reversing the decision at the earliest possible opportunity.

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