Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy might not have heard me or I might not have articulated it well enough, but while a cost benefit analysis was not specifically carried out prior to the award of the contract, it was considered that outsourcing was an appropriate solution for the document management process. That is the activity that is taking place. The reason was the peak nature of this once-in-a-year event for new applicants. Obviously, students in second, third and fourth year are dealing with the 66 local authorities and VECs. There was general consensus, and nobody disputed it, that one management body operating the system of administration was preferable to the 66 existing bodies.

We had many complaints about delays in paying grants but the Department had no responsibility in the area. This is our first time having responsibility to administer it. Lessons must be learned. I have said to staff in my Department and in the City of Dublin VEC that we must get the grants processed and the money into the bank accounts as quickly as possible and, when that is done, we will do an analysis of how it worked, how we can make it work better and how we can speed it up. Perhaps we can do some pre-application work and work on related matters so that it flows more freely. That is my intention. I will keep a constant eye on it between now and Christmas. The aim is to get 33,000 applications cleared by Christmas. Although the money may not come into the accounts, the aim is to get the applications cleared. If there is any variation, I will personally notify both Deputies.

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