Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Both of us speak to students regularly and we hear their concerns. So many students are telling me that they are either doing huge and long commutes trying to get into college, if they can, and that this is causing them huge stress. We saw that young woman on "The Tonight Show" this week who was explaining how she was travelling a long distance and the impact that was having with getting up at 5 a.m. and coming back late at night, while trying to keep her part-time job. So many students are not only struggling to get into college and all of that but then they also have to work long hours for their part-time jobs on minimum wage, trying to cover as much of their college costs as they can. They are also telling me about the real impact that is having on their mental health and about the fact there are not enough services around the universities for that.

So many young people are feeling left behind in this country and they do not see a future of being able to stay here. They want to contribute to this society but they need to be helped by Government to get through university, college or whatever course they want to do. They also need to see a future here where they can own their own homes or rent something at a decent price so that they can raise a family. That is something they are not seeing at the moment.

See this speech in context