Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I propose an amendment to the Order of Business, that No. 16, Electoral (Amendment) (Voting at 16) Bill 2016, kindly sponsored by Senators Pádraig Mac Lochlainn and Lynn Ruane, be taken prior to No. 1.

As the youngest Oireachtas Member, I welcome the publication of the Cassells report on third level funding. I began my third level education in 2009 and, since that time, higher education institutes have faced cuts of up to €500 million. The funding of third level education is now at crisis point. All the options laid out in the Cassells report yesterday identified the immediate need for an injection of funding.

Sinn Féin is committed to ensuring third level education is accessible, irrespective of class, ability to pay, disability, age or family circumstance. The introduction of a student loan will not address the immediate shortfall of funding as outlined by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform, as it would take several years to implement. Added to that, Ireland has the third highest rate of personal and household debt in the European Union with a credit union survey stating that 59% of parents have debt in excess of €5,000, as a result of private borrowing to support the costs of third level education. Student loans do not increase access to education and many students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds will not pursue third level education as a result. Publicly funded education is the only fair and equitable model proposed in this report. Sinn Féin requests the Minister for Education and Skills to outline to the House the reaction of his Department and his response to this report.