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

I thank the Minister of State, Deputy O'Dowd, for coming to the Chamber, but similar to the previous speaker I am disheartened by the trend in recent times whereby the Cabinet Ministers directly responsible are not responding to the Topical Issue debate in the manner promised when the Dáil term started. The Government was elected on a platform of introducing great reform to the way the Oireachtas would operate and also on a promise that it would engage with the Dáil in a way that had not happened previously. Unfortunately, the turnout in recent times of senior Ministers to respond to Topical Issue debates directly relevant to them is indicative that on too many occasions they are treating this Chamber as an irritation to them proceeding with what they want to do, regardless of what is said in this Chamber.

I wish to raise the Government’s proposal to introduce a capital means test for making decisions on maintenance grants for students attending third level colleges and the likely impact it will have on farming families as well as the self-employed. The Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn, announced his intention in that regard in the 2012 budget. In recent weeks there has been further media speculation as to exactly what he plans to put in place. At the beginning of 2012 he set up a review group to assess how such a system could be introduced and he promised that a report would issue by September. It is now February 2012 yet nothing firm has been announced on the issue except what we have read in the newspapers. The Minister’s approach to the issue displays a severe lack of knowledge and understanding of exactly what it means to be a farmer today or the challenges facing many in the self-employed and business community.

The year 2011 was very successful for farm income in comparison to previous years. The average farm income was €24,000. Much diversity is evident in farm income depending on the type of farming involved. For example, in dairying, which tends to be practised on larger farms, the average income in 2011 was €69,000. However, on beef farms the average income was €11,000 and it was €17,000 on sheep farms. That is taking into account all 100,000 farming households nationally.

The Minister’s proposal appears to be based on farm values of more than €750,000. If one takes an average acreage price of approximately €10,000, that would equate to a 75 acre farm. The Minister is talking about putting a notional value on the land which would then be added to the real income earned by a family in a given year. As a result, in many cases students from farming backgrounds would find themselves unable to access a student maintenance grant and unable to finance themselves through college.

If the Minister feels there is unfairness in the current student grant system he must examine how income is assessed and whether issues arise in that regard. People from the self-employed and farming communities would not have a problem with the system giving a fair reflection of incomes. Nobody could take issue with such an approach. However, it would be unacceptable for the Minister to place a notional value on assets which are a tool to derive an income. If the Minister proceeds with such a wrong-headed approach he will leave many families in a position where they cannot attend college. That will not be tolerated. The Minister must reverse from his current position. I am interested to hear what the Minister of State, Deputy O’Dowd, has to say on behalf of the Minister about his plans.

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