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

I thank the Minister for his statement and I welcome this opportunity to debate higher education again. I was very encouraged earlier by the announcement of ring-fenced funding for autistic students. I know the Minister agrees that it should have been done years ago. It is also important to measure and track outcomes so we can get real value for money and that the money can make a real difference to the lives of autistic students and students with intellectual disabilities. I have always felt on a broader level that we have missed out so much as a nation by not investing in young people with autism and autistic people of all ages. Many of them have unique talents that have not been fulfilled, and it is important to see that happen now.

I do not know if the education of staff will be done through the Middletown education centre. That centre was set up in the aftermath of the Good Friday Agreement. We visited it with former Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin. The work done there is really good. The centre is important because it has much experience and knowledge built up in the context of training staff.

The Minister will have heard about the plight of international students this morning. There are some shocking stories. These are mostly students coming here to study English. For a long time there have been reports of landlords, employers and agents taking advantage of these vulnerable students. We have heard of six students crammed into a disused nightclub and charged €4,000 for the privilege. We must do something to protect these students. The Minister must engage with his Government colleagues because this cuts across a number of briefs. We must end both this racketeering and this exploitation of these young people. Since inflation became an issue and with the economy the way it is, racketeering and exploitation seem to be going on wholesale. This type of behaviour needs to be called out across all Departments.

Many of these students and workers are in low-paid but vital jobs. Many of them worked in nursing homes as carers during the pandemic. They deserve to be treated with respect and protected. The Qualifications and Quality Assurance (Education and Training) (Amendment) Act 2019 contains legislative provisions for the establishment of a new national learner protection fund and the international education mark. These measures were intended to increase the quality assurance protection of learners in the practices surrounding recruitment, information provision and student welfare. I have raised this matter with the Minister in the past but there has not been any progress in respect of it.

There is also the question of protecting our own students who are heading abroad on J1 visas. Many are in danger of losing large sums due to the delays in securing their visas through USIT. That cohort of students and their families should be looked after.

I commend the Minister's clear statement that fees will not continue at their current level. That is really important. Over the years we have seen the financial burden arising from a deficit of funding at third level being pushed onto students and their families. We have the highest fees in the EU, unaffordable on-campus accommodation and no support for part-time students. I have much more to say about this matter but I am really concerned about the number of families who have contacted me in the past few weeks because they were refused the SUSI grant. I welcome the measures that will be introduced in September but even with those, the thresholds are too low. Any of the increases introduced in last year's budget have been eaten up by people's household spending. The financial status presented in a grant application bears in no way any resemblance to the reality for many of these households.

I welcome that the Minister has said he will increase the threshold for working students. Is there any possibility, in light of current circumstances, that the measure could be brought forward in order that those who worked over the past number of months and are being assessed now could be considered retrospectively? We need these students in the labour market as well. We should find ways for the really hard-working families and parents just over the threshold to find some relief this year because of the economic circumstances.

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