Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Deputy on bringing certainty to these matters. We are already in the first fortnight in January and students in Northern Ireland do not have certainty. It is not good enough if we are going to look at long-term planning or long-term commitments to North-South co-operation as well as the movement of people. Statistics show that the number of students from the South going North has gone down over the past five years. However, the number of students coming from the North to study in the Republic is going up. At the same time, we have to give a little more certainty. People do not live in six-month, nine-month or 12 month vacuums. Students who are doing their junior certificate or their GCSEs are in that space of thinking ahead to where they will get their university education.

I aim to work with the Deputy on that point.

The Deputy asked about guarantees in the event of a no-deal Brexit. I suppose the honest answer is we do not have any guarantees of any variety in the space in which we find ourselves. My officials and I, with the Cabinet as a collective, are trying to control what we can with these omnibus Bills. The free fees aspect of the matter is outside legislation and will be covered by an administrative or policy change. Over 200 students are in the Irish SUSI system this year from the United Kingdom and nearly 1,500 students are getting grants in the United Kingdom and Northern Ireland, so we must ensure that aspect is protected at all costs.

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