Paul McAuliffe (Dublin North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The way the Government has responded has been creative. It has looked for measures that can be rolled out quite quickly. In many cases, that can mean that it is perhaps not as targeted. I accept the Minister's point that there is a strong case for people who are over 18 and are in second-level schooling. However, I know that will require a strong case to be made to the Minister for Finance as part of the budget process. Work also could be done with the Minister, Deputy Harris, to reduce the overall cost of people who are going on to full-time education through higher education grants etc. There are many ways that you can skin a cat. This was a measure that was taken in the past. I have no difficulty with us finding other ways. While I emphasise we have to help people in targeted ways, we also need to find measures that support a broader base across society in a way that we have done over the last number of years.

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