Jerry Buttimer (Fine Gael)

Cuirim fáilte roimh an t-Aire Stáit. I am glad the Student Support Bill 2008 has at last come to fruition. The Bill is welcome at a time when our most educated and brightest young people are leaving in droves. It will offer greater cohesiveness through the implementation a single unified grant scheme. Fianna Fáil could do with a unified scheme to stay afloat but that is a different matter. I wish the Minister of State well in the deliberations this evening.

Last October and November, Fine Gael's spokesperson on education, Deputy O'Dowd, highlighted the current fragmented nature of the grant system. Parliamentary questions he tabled in the Dáil revealed that almost 20% of applications had not been processed at that stage. In my county of Cork, 55% of Cork County Council applications had not been processed.

Senators Ó Brolcháin and Ryan made reference to different issues. Senator Ó Brolcháin spoke about registration fee increases in the budget. His party is in government and he acquiesced to these increases.