Violet-Anne Wynne (Clare, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

10 o’clock

I thank the Minister for his response. It is important to note that, under the SAF, tuition fees, registration fees, and student loan repayments are not covered. Some colleges have a closing date for those applications. Nelson Mandela once said that education is the most powerful weapon that one can use to change the world, and according to the Central Statistics Office, CSO, it reported last year that more than three in ten people said that they would like to return to education. Of these, 74% said they would be more likely to choose a course through blended or remote learning and, for those in employment, that figure was 76%.

Part-time students have many and varied reasons for not being able to study full time, such as raising families, providing full-time care, actively participating in the workforce and ultimately paying back into the State. Covid-19 brought with it many challenges, but one opportunity it gave us was to develop further practices and policies to make remote or blended learning and working part of our lives. These opportunities should not be disregarded. These students pay a full-time contribution, they complete exactly the same amount of work and the same hours on placement, and after four years, their qualification is the same as that of a full-time student.

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