Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael)

There are 420,000 people unemployed. Yesterday I was told by the Union of Students in Ireland that in Cork there were students sleeping in cars, that in Tipperary there were students being evicted and that in Waterford IT there were 7,000 students to one counsellor. The reason for this is that grants are not being paid. Worse still - this is the bad news - I have been asking the Leader for weeks when will the Students Support Bill 2008 be brought before the House in order that there can be a framework for funding third level students.

I have three questions for the Leader on education matters.