Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy. I doubt she means it like this but with my Department or the Government, there was no attempt to mislead anybody. I remember getting a letter from the deputy chief medical officer on the Friday telling us we needed to bring in additional precautions, and this effectively moved much college activity online. That decision was made and published on that Friday, so it was the moment we received the public health advice. The Deputy has been decent and fair enough to acknowledge that the situation has been very fluid with regard to the public health advice.

I take the Deputy's point about the cost of a postgraduate course in Ireland, which is significant. I have outlined the legislative reality and these are the laws passed by the House relating to how the fees are set by autonomous institutions. I have outlined the supports I, along with Government colleagues, have put in place in that regard. I want to do more in this space but we have significantly increased the level a person can earn and the amount that he or she can receive from next year as part of the maintenance grant while doing a postgraduate course in Ireland. These supports were decimated in the previous recession and we need to rebuild them.

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