Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is a fair comment. I will certainly take the Deputy's considerations on board. For the record, graduate entry medicine courses are not approved for funding under the student grant schemes because progression is a key tenet. Students accessing graduate entry medicine will, as a matter of course, hold a level 8 qualification prior to entry. Completion of a graduate-entry medicine degree also confers a further level 8 qualification. I accept, however, that there is a difference here because we want to train more people and to create more pathways. We are looking at how we can do more. There are options where we can increase the State’s contribution towards the fees or we can change the eligibility for SUSI grants, or we could look to doing a bit of both. We were progressing this matter before the bank’s decision, which has compounded what is an already very difficult issue. I recognise that this is a commercial matter, but it is not unreasonable to ask a bank that was supported by the Irish people through difficult times wait for a period and not to create an immediate cliff edge.

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