William Aird (Laois, Fine Gael)

Graduate medical students are under huge pressure from fees, accommodation, travel expenses and the cost of living. They receive no SUSI grant, no Government supports and no access to loans. Their options are to drop out, to work 12-hour weekend shifts or to rely on parents for financial support. This is unfair, especially to students from rural communities where we urgently need to see more doctors. We must ease the financial pressure on graduate medical students. This can be done by extending the SUSI grant to graduate medicine students or by creating a fair loan scheme for them. We must support our future doctors.

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