Cian O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay North, Social Democrats)

Did the Minister only discover the economic risks and threats posed by the Trump Administration after the election in Ireland took place? That is a very serious question. To justify breaking promises on the basis of the threats posed by the Trump Administration, when it was already in place and we knew that Administration posed huge threats to our economy by the time of our election, and then use that as an excuse for breaking promises after the election does not cut it with people.

It does not cut it to have student fees of €2,000 for three years in a row and then increase them to €3,000, which sounds like what is happening, and then say that is not a broken promise. How can the Government break promises like that? The programme for Government promised a reduction and not an increase in fees. There should be a reduction in the €2,000 figure if the promise was coming to fruition. If Fine Gael's promise to phase out fees was coming to fruition, fees would not increase. How can the Government credibly look Irish students and their families in the eye and break these promises?

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