Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Taoiseach's promise to publish a review in March. I hope it will be deserving of classification in the non-fiction category of our bookshelves. The Government rightly gave a strong commitment in the programme for Government in the area of education, including a commitment to protect and enhance the educational experience of children. In the aftermath of that declaration, the Taoiseach cannot deny that there have been several occasions of considerable disappointment in this regard. The first was when the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, broke his written pledge to third level students in regard to fees. On the next occasion, funding to schools under the Delivering Equality of Opportunities in Schools, DEIS, programme was brought into question. Special needs assistants then found themselves coming under challenge and, in addition, the guidance counsel system across the country was at least undermined if not in fact decimated. The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs is very conscious of the critical role guidance counsellors play in our schools, particularly in light of the tragic deaths in recent weeks of very young teenagers as a result of cyberbullying. There was never a greater need for funding to be concentrated in this area.

Another issue of concern in the area of education relates to the processing of third level grant applications, with students throughout the country arriving at politicians' constituency clinics to report delays. We wish the new Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, service well. I am sure it will work effectively in the future but, in the meantime, 48,000 of the 66,000 students who applied for a grant are still awaiting a decision. In accordance with the commitments given in the programme for Government, does the Taoiseach envisage additional resources being allocated to the processing system as a matter of urgency? Students should not have to wait until the end of this year to receive their grant. Some will be forced to drop out of third level education, where we all want them to remain, because the funding that is so essential to them is not forthcoming.

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