Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

—that if I put the €3 million back into the postgraduate scheme I will be able to counterbalance it by taking it from somewhere else. There were choices to be made and I had to make them. The independent Estimates review committee evaluated the schemes and recommended that people should not be paid during the summer. This applies to the participants who were in receipt of unemployment payments prior to participation in the scheme. All other participants – for example, lone parents, people with disabilities – remain unaffected by this decision and will retain payment during the summer period.

What has happened is that people have been given the allowance on a weekly basis and in the main they were also working during the summer. That payment is not means tested. It has been decided that those who are unable to find work, and sometimes it is quite difficult to find summer work, will be paid by the Department. I appreciate the argument made by Senator Norris because it is just another section of my Department which will pay those people during the summer. Everything in life is not simple, and particularly in my Department. Somebody once said, "If I were starting again I would not start from here." The schemes have been added to and we have tweaked schemes to address concerns. Naturally there are knock-on effects in other sections of the Department.

I appreciate what has been said. I have been lobbied by the members of the Union of Students in Ireland, by Members of both Houses and the universities. At a time of economic constraints, second chance education, be it at second level or at primary degree level, should be seen as a stepping stone, the pathway to progression into the jobs market.

I will keep the issue under review. At present I am not in a position to tell Senators that I can change the scheme. If Senators can find €3 million for the scheme and a further €15 million or €16 million for another scheme I will be delighted to listen to them.