Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I fully agree on the Minister's point about diversity of access and routes to entry. That is important. There are different models that I hope the Minister will consider. Perhaps SUSI can be expanded up to graduate level not just for medicine, but also for other courses that have previously been the preserve of those who can afford them. There are examples from other jurisdictions, such as the Scottish St. Andrew's model, whereby students got access to study medicine through a bursary for accommodation and living costs. Those students made a commitment to work in NHS Scotland. Such a model could have huge benefits for us. If we are educating people from whatever level and age, bringing them into our own health service and getting a commitment that they will stay there if we invest in their education, that could have positive ramifications both for our health service and society in general. I hope the Government is being innovative in the type of policy solutions being considered. I appreciate why the Minister is encouraging the bank not to create a cliff edge. However, we must demonstrate urgency in bringing these measures forward, hopefully within the next budgetary cycle.

See this speech in context