Maurice Cummins (Fine Gael)

We had a debate on the four year plan yesterday when it was hot off the presses. I ask for further discussions on it when people have a chance to examine it in further detail. Perhaps the Leader can facilitate this.

We are three months into the college year yet 13,000 students, some 21% of all students, have not yet received maintenance grants. Students are finding it very difficult to make ends meet and some are dropping out of college as a result. Some 60,000 applications for grant aid were submitted and 13,000 had not been processed by the first week of November. These figures were supplied by the Department of Education and Skills. Everyone would agree this is totally unacceptable and puts pressure on families who need the grant. Fine Gael believes there is a need for a one-stop shop that would fast-track all payments and grant applications. This is happening year after year and it must be addressed. I ask the Leader to contact the Minister for Education and Skills to ensure people get the grants before Christmas. They should have received grants three months ago and it is unacceptable to see this happening.