Eoghan Kenny (Cork North-Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

When the SUSI grant is being made available, in terms of means, it is taking into account both parents and the individual. If a student has a part-time job outside of college, it is taking into account those means as well, so there is no encouragement there for a student to have a part-time job.

I am quite concerned at the lack of communication between the Minister and the Tánaiste. On 11 November, the Tánaiste stated that a huge priority of his was to abolish student fees. Less than four months later, the Minister on 15 March stated that it is not the best use of public moneys. I would be quite concerned at that.

I met with the USI, of which my colleague, Senator Laura Harmon, was a former president. There are serious issues with regard to housing. I will give the Minister an example. In Cork, we have purpose-built accommodation for 1,534. We have 38,000 students in Cork between UCC and MTU. The average rent for a house in Cork right now is more than €2,000. That is one example of what the Minister can tackle but I would be concerned at the wording from him and the Tánaiste.

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