Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

We do not need the Minister absolving himself of responsibility in this matter.

Our motion refers to promises made by the Minister to students when in opposition and in the midst of an election campaign. These are similar promises he made on delivering an efficient grants system. The Minister promised he would not increase the student registration fee and, instead, would reduce it from €2,000 to €1,500. Since he was elected, the Minister has brazenly done a U-turn on this. Not even being sorry about it, he then said he feels bad about it but that is the way it is. He had no such problem two weeks before election day when he put pen to paper to sign a pledge not to introduce fees. As a former Minister for Finance, he should have been well able to do the figures and know such a pledge was not possible given the economic situation. It is time we saw a different approach from the Minister, one that is not about grand stunts and big announcements but one about taking responsibility for his decisions, delivering on his commitments and the reforms he was going to introduce. There are 50,000 students and their families suffering because of the Minister’s approach to this issue and his job. I hope in this debate he will ensure they can see some light at the end of the tunnel and have their financial worries assuaged in the coming weeks before Christmas.

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