Ann Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the opportunity to speak on this serious issue. If it were not so serious I would say Fianna Fáil was trying to have a laugh with its Private Members' motion. It is interesting to note that since Fianna Fáil has moved to the opposite side of the House it seems to have the answers to everything. What a pity it did not have the answers when it was sitting on the Government side of the House.

SUSI was introduced to replace the previous system under which 66 bodies around the country used to process grant applications for third level students. In making this step forward, the Minister, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, sought expressions of interest from all of the previous grant awarding bodies to formulate the best way forward. The merging of 66 bodies into one is no easy task and each new configuration requires time to settle and also time to evaluate.

Delays have been experienced in the awarding of grants. The Minister has accepted that to be the case and in a brave manner has accepted full responsibility for it. He has stated that the SUSI system has not worked as well as he had hoped, but that is not to say it is not working at all. Delays in students issuing grants are not a new phenomenon. Under the previous system governed by Fianna Fáil the situation was no better, and was often worse, given that students did not receive confirmation of their grant status until well into the new year. I have personal experience of that. The academic year starts in September to October. Perhaps insufficient staff were initially appointed or trained from the outset but all of the subsequent requests relating to staffing and other resource issues submitted to the Department of Education and Skills by SUSI have been granted to the extent that SUSI is now staffed to the level it has requested.

We must look to the future. The Minister has sought to provide confirmation to more than 30,000 students between now and Christmas that they will receive the grants to which they are entitled. We must ensure that every student who is entitled to a grant and who has made a correct application will receive a payment before the end of the year. Other speakers referred to the welcome tracking system. However, the appeals process requires some work. Appeals systems are in place for many schemes, including the medical card scheme. One issue that adds to the difficulty of processing applications is the submission of incorrect information. I do not say that is the cause of the delays but it can and does cause problems, as anyone who has tried to navigate the medical card system has found.

Perhaps an interactive telephone helpline could be introduced to smooth the path of applicants. The Minister has led the way in introducing a system that will flourish in the future. All new systems have teething problems, but the option of speaking to a person should be considered. I appeal to universities to take a pragmatic approach to those students who have not received their grants and to stop putting undue pressure on them.

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