Cathy Bennett (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

I welcome the students here tonight. We in Sinn Féin appreciate their efforts to go to college and better themselves.

In a matter of weeks, students will be returning to their studies or setting off to college for the first time. What should be a time of excitement for so many will turn into a very stressful situation as they face the challenge of funding for so-called free education being impacted. Not content in recent weeks with weakening protections for student renters and driving their rents up further, the Government is now effectively toying with students by increasing the cost of their education by an additional €1,000.

Is this bluster? The Minister for further and higher education, the Minister for public expenditure, the Minister for finance, the Tánaiste and the Taoiseach refuse to clarify whether the bill due in a matter of weeks will be €2,000 or €3,000. It is a simple answer. Students and their families should not be victim to the internal manoeuvres of the disingenuous attempts by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to portray themselves as Opposition parties while they are in government, playing the deflection game as usual. It is apparent the well-being of students, financially and otherwise, is the furthest thing from the Government's mind.

While the Government refuses to bring clarity for students, the most substantive intervention it could muster was an utterly bizarre intervention from the Minister for further and higher education, who accused Sinn Féin of introducing uncertainty and called on the Opposition for clarity. Let me be very clear. Sinn Féin's proposal is to reduce fees by €1,500 as a first step to their full abolishment. Will the Minister please clarify if the Government will charge students more this year than the last year? Will it be €2,000 or €3,000? Can I please have an answer to this very simple question tonight?

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