Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The Minister can dress it up all he likes, but we still have the highest fees here. We compare them with 2008. The Minister knows the situation in the North is one where we are dependent on a block grant. Please God, however, it will not be long until we have Irish unity and an all-island approach to education. I hope the Minister will agree that such an approach will serve all the students across this island, and will be one where we will not have fees and we will not be creating barriers for students going into third-level education.

I also need to ask the Minister about postgraduate fees. What has happened during the Covid-19 pandemic is absolutely extortionate. Students in some cases were sold an experience which was never delivered. I draw the Minister's attention, and I will send him this information separately, to the university in Limerick which promised study trips to students. The cost was worked into the charge, and those students were charged €1,600 for those trips. However, those students cannot get their money back, even though they have never had student visas. I will send the Minister a separate note on this issue, but we must really do something to address the financial barriers for students.

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