Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

On amendment No. 23, this provision is really just to clarify that the PLC schemes are now administered by SOLAS rather than by the Minister since its establishment. That is the purpose in using the same language, to ensure these students qualify for grants and that there is no doubt about it. As that is the purpose, I am not proposing to accept the amendment because it would involve the use of different language.

The reason I do not propose to accept amendment No. 24 is that we already have a provision in section 16(3) of the Student Support Act, 2011, whereby the Minister may specify a class of applicant or criteria that may be considered in determining whether an applicant is a student of a particular class. Under that Act there is a statutory instrument in which we should make any change to be made. I am sympathetic to the case made by the three Senators who spoke on that issue. We all know of cases in which people are living away from their parents and proving estrangement from them can be difficult. In some cases people have formed new families, as Senator Marie Moloney described. However, I do not believe this legislation is the appropriate place in which to address this issue.