Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputies covered a couple of issues. I am glad Deputy O'Brien mentioned not only higher education, but also further education. We must get the message out that further education and training is just as important in some cases to one's access to a job or career as education through the higher education institutions. As most will agree, much work is going on in that area. Hopefully, we will get the message across that there is a choice and there is another route to a career or job with further education as well.

I agree with Deputy O'Brien, as I stated earlier, that we must have a grown-up conversation in this House about how we will fund, and guarantee access to, education in the future. The key, in my opinion, is guaranteed access to third level, further education or training for whatever it is one wants to do. Some countries have a range of such models and here it is very much based on one's ability to pay or to access grant income. There is little access to student loans, if one wants to go that route, and in some cases it is difficult for a student to have that option. It will need a non-political conversation around that.

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