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

Perhaps the Minister can comment on that later. I would hope something would be provided this year, because students are struggling right here and now. The Minister saw the students queuing for food banks. We live in a republic in 2021. Having students queuing for food banks that run out after an hour is atrocious.

When is the review of SUSI going to be published? The Minister knows there are issues within it that must be addressed. For a 30-year-old or a 40-year-old with children of their own, being judged and excluded from SUSI support because of what their parents' pension might be is atrocious. It is just one of the issues that needs to be addressed.

The budget did nothing in respect of fees. We have the highest fees in the EU and nobody will explain to me why that is the case. One of the reasons is because of the chronic underfunding of the sector. We constantly treat students and struggling families as cash cows to fill the gaps that are there because of that underfunding. That must stop.

I welcome the moves in the budget to increase the adjacent grant. That will make a big difference, but again, if it will not be introduced until next year, I am concerned about what will happen this year.

When the Minister announced the total funding for the student assistance fund on Monday, he announced a figure of €17.2 million. The funding provided last year was €16 million, so it does not represent a €10 million increase, it represents an increase of €1.2 million. The Minister needs to bring clarity to that point.

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