Dáil debates

Wednesday, 13 October 2021

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions

Student Accommodation

11:50 am

Photo of Simon HarrisSimon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will do that and I thank Deputy Griffin for bringing me around Tralee. Deputy Boyd Barrett suggested I should talk to students and I do so all the time. They are not the preserve or ownership of any single side of this House. We need to do more in student supports and we took significant actions yesterday. We could not rectify everything in one budget but it is a statement of intent by this Government, and before the end of the year we will bring forward proposals on a sustainable funding model for higher education.

I want to be clear in case anyone seeks to misrepresent this. It will not involve student loans or any of those other failed policies that have been tried in other jurisdictions, including jurisdictions on this island, that have been bad for students and have left them indebted as they leave our universities. We took a number of actions yesterday, including the students assistance fund, SUSI grants, free laptops, mental health supports, changes to the adjacent grants to do directly and exactly what the Deputy is asking for. There are some students whose SUSI grant will rise by €2,000 as a result of those changes yesterday. That is a direct recognition of the cost of living issues we need to address. We have more to do and we are happy to work with students on this.

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