Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Independent)

Ba mhaith liom seans cúpla focal a rá anocht. I was in the Green Party back in 2009 when everything was cut to shreds. Back then I fought a little bit of a rearguard battle with some of my colleagues to get education cuts reversed and to stop registration fees being increased. That was when stuff was quite expensive. The cost of living rose post Covid and the registration fees were reduced by approximately €1,000. The question we have to discuss tonight is if we are going to leave it until the budget as per this Government statement, or if we are going to talk about it now. I thank my colleagues for allowing this debate because it is important to talk about it now. The cost of living is still high. Students are still faced with so many pressures. We see the impact on mental health because of that. It can cost overall maybe €60,000 for education and a lot of that is borne by the State and the taxpayer over a period. Perhaps there are some ways that contribution has to be paid back at some stage. At the moment I would see that as general taxation. Too many budgets in the past have opted to cut taxes. People say they would rather see investment in services and in our people, rather than cutting taxes, although I acknowledge that people also say we pay too much tax. It cannot be either-or.

Looking at the students in particular, travel costs, rent and accommodation costs if they can actually get it, and the general cost of living and the pressure on their parents, and them having to work, all adds up to the cost of living being too high. It is premature to make any reduction right now.

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