Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I would be delighted to do so. I would be very happy to meet with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. If it is outlining the issue to the Deputy then it is definitely an issue I want to hear about and see how we can rectify it. Understandably there is a degree of flexibility and discretion around the student assistance programme because there has to be. This is not an excuse for a lack of information or support we can provide the Society of St. Vincent de Paul. The idea is that there is discretion and flexibility to help students on a one-off basis with exceptional needs payments and the like. It is disbursed to universities and higher education institutions on a pro ratabasis. They are each given a budget for the year. This year it is the highest amount it has ever been, as far as I can recall, at €18.5 million. Certainly I will do that. I have long been of the view that we need to make the information easier to get for students. The Deputy has triggered a thought in my mind. I would be very happy to meet him and the Society of St. Vincent de Paul to see how we can assist. The other fund we have available is the fund for students with disabilities. We had 15,145 students access it in the academic year 2020-2021. It is another funding stream available for people with disabilities in our education system.

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