Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein)

Cuirim fáilte roimh Bridie McNally, who is here with us today. It is her birthday and she is here with a group of very lively women from County Monaghan. Fáilte agus breithlá shona duit, Bridie. She is also Deputy Bennett's mother - I should probably have said that.

Can the Taoiseach be straight with students and their parents? Can he tell them when they get their bill for their college fees in September how much they will be asked to pay? Will it be €2,000 or €3,000? That is the very simple question that has been asked since the Minister, Deputy James Lawless, went on radio and stated that without a cost-of-living package, college fees would be hiked up by €1,000. That was nine days ago. While the Taoiseach has been away in Japan, we have had a parade of senior Government Ministers in here refusing to answer that very straightforward question. The Taoiseach and the Tánaiste have dodged answering it too. The Government is ducking and diving, oblivious to the fact students are sitting down with their parents to make decisions about college now, today.

They are asking whether they can afford to go to college or to pay the extortionate rents. They are asking whether they will even be able to take up their CAO offers. Those are the questions being asked around kitchen tables.

The Taoiseach says he understands the pressure that families are under, but if he did, there is no way that a hike in fees would be on the cards. This morning’s Barnardos report reveals that many working families are forced to borrow money to pay for basics and are cutting back on essentials, while one in four parents skips meals so their children can have enough to eat. It just beggars belief that the Government is refusing to include a cost-of-living package in the budget. A €1,000 hike in college fees is a lot of money for families. We must remember that it is €1,000 per student, so if you have two or three in college, it is a big whack.

We have been inundated with messages from stressed-out students and their parents. I want to share just a few with the Taoiseach. Stephen told us:

I have two in college. Fees will cost me an extra €2000 this year! Last year, the rent for my daughter in Cork cost me ten grand. This was on top of student fees, food, travel, not to mention other expenses.

Jane wrote:

I’m going into my final year of a general nursing degree. I have to complete 30 plus placement hours a week, leaving me very little time to seek paid employment. The increase in fees [directly] affects my ability to complete my degree. No wonder so many of us flee to Australia.

Alison has two children in university with a third on the way. For one daughter, she is paying €12,000 a year just for accommodation. She said:

I’m infuriated by the proposal to increase fees by €1000 ... I am sick to the teeth with this frivolous decision.

That is just three stories but tens of thousands of students and their families are in exactly the same boat. All are now worried that they will have to find another €1,000 per student at a time when money has never been tighter. They have budgeted and made decisions based on the Government's clear commitment that college fees would not be increased. The Taoiseach owes it to them to be upfront. Tá sé thar am freagra soiléir a thabhairt do mhic léinn agus dá dteaghlach. An bhfuil a gcuid táillí á n-ardú? Cad a bheidh orthu íoc, €2,000 nó €3,000? Students and their families need the Taoiseach to answer this question: how much will they be asked to pay in September? Will it be €2,000 or €3,000? I ask him to please tell them.

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