Cecilia Keaveney (Fianna Fail)

Will the Minister of State bring to the attention of the Minister the fact that the only reason I am raising the issue again within six weeks of having raised it is that the situation is now even more dire? The indications are that the fees will be increased. While I welcome the information on tax relief, some parents of students are not in the tax bracket. Therefore, the problem is that it is the poorest who are being denied easy access to their local third level institutions. I accept there are agreements under the Good Friday Agreement and the St. Andrews Agreement, but in the context of the review taking place under the stewardship of Minister Empey, will the Minister of State engage in formal interaction with him to point out that hardship is being caused and that it is not being alleviated because colleges are choosing not to support students from the Republic of Ireland? This has resulted in the lack of numbers able to access these universities. I urge the Minister of State to convey the message to the Department of Education and Science that I would not have raised this issue if it was not more serious now than it was six weeks ago.