Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I appeal to the Minister to work with the Minister with responsibility for housing, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, because while there are many good providers, both public and private, there are also rogue operators who make enormous demands of students. Then there is peer pressure, with students worrying that they do not have a place. The scramble for accommodation every year is unbelievable.

I was contacted by a woman in Tipperary whose daughter attended grind school. She worked very hard and achieved a good result in her HPAT selection test, with a view to studying medicine. However, her results were downgraded in four subjects. She knows that her teachers provided better grades and she wants those grades to be provided. She also has an issue with the appeal date. As the Minister knows, the CAO offer of places is on Friday but appeals cannot be submitted until Monday. Can the appeal process be opened earlier? I am sure there are many other people in a similar situation. This is an excellent student who put in huge effort. Her parents supported her with fees for the grind school and everything else but there is an anomaly in the system. We cannot have people in such situations being discriminated against either.

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