Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for her willingness not to repeat the debate we have had. I know the issue of mental health is very serious and important. Some €121,000 will be allocated to IT Sligo and €164,000 will be allocated to Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, GMIT. I will provide the Deputy with a full breakdown of the funding by institution. The additional places we have announced in recent days will come with additional resources. We will not ask the institutions to provide these services for free. I do not say that in a flippant way. We will provide them with the funds and resources necessary for those students. Roughly speaking and from memory, the 1,250 extra places will come at a full-year cost of €12 million. An incremental cost will arise from the 800 extra places I have announced this morning.

The point the Deputy has made is a very fair one. This is all a question of balance. We are asking our universities, along with everybody else, to live and work in a very different way. We are asking them to maintain social distancing and offer blended learning. When the intake of students is increased, that challenge becomes harder. The higher education institutions have come up with these figures. We have not dictated what they will provide from Dublin. Because of the extraordinary year, we have asked them to look at the full resources of their campuses to determine whether they can safely provide any more spaces. The latest figure of 800 represents what they can do. Let me be truthful with this House and with students and parents throughout the country. There will not be capacity to do more beyond the announcements made this morning and last week. That is an honest evaluation of our position.

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