Averil Power (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This is an important issue as there are always difficulties when people fall through gaps in a student grant scheme. I appreciate that there must be generalised rules that are fair to everyone and set criteria but there are always problems relating to people who, for good reason, cannot live at home. Some people leave home because of serious issues there. When I was student union president in Trinity College I worked with students under 23 years of age who could not stay at home due to violence and a lack of safety. They did not qualify for grants in their own right. At the time this was dealt with through the student assistance fund, discretionary funding by the college to look after people ineligible for grants. The college had discretion but that fund has been cut dramatically in recent years.

Some of the colleges ran out early last year and were not able to assist anybody after a particular date. That is a serious problem because we are talking about the most vulnerable students. Those who qualify for the fund are in the most dire financial straits. I echo that there is a need for a more flexible system and that it is welcome that the Minister has indicated that she will look at it. If she is not in a position to respond to the amendment, she might indicate whether it is something she will take forward, as discussed on Committee Stage. The cut to the student assistance fund is a big problem and I ask her to do something about it if she has any discretion within her funding approaching the end of the year. It is a big problem for the most vulnerable students who are in very difficult situations and whom the colleges would have been able to help in years past.