John Connolly (Galway West, Fianna Fail)

I welcome the fact the Minister has outlined a method that prioritises being fair, whereby we give every option to ensure the detail is clear for the family about having that non-adjacent categorisation. There is one thing we should examine, namely, the household income threshold. This should reflect in some way the institution the student wishes to attend. If we take my own example, I am fortunate to live in Galway city and my children have a wide range of options to attend third level education on our doorstep through University of Galway and HEU. However, for somebody who might live beyond the 30 km radius in Connemara, on the Aran Islands or in some part of west Mayo or the midlands, the cost of attending education for that family and the child is more significant than it is for my children, yet my household income is assessed in the same way as the household income of that family. We should look at income thresholds in that respect.

See this speech in context