David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

You are very caring, a Chathaoirligh.

I am bored senseless by the budget. I think it is a complete and utter waste of time. It has been leaked for weeks. I remember a time when Ministers were fired for the smallest leak. We know all about it. We would have been better off with no budget at all. Let the country continue and let it recover. The housing grant is completely mad. It is back to the crazy days of 2008.

Anyway, I am keen to raise one issue. In budget 2011 the Government cancelled the maintenance grant for postgraduate students. As a result there was a decline in postgraduate applications. The worry is that this decline takes place most severely in the more deprived socioeconomic areas. Instead of encouraging people from deprived backgrounds to take part in university life fully as well as research and so on, we are actually discouraging them.

The latest figures from 2015 show that 2,542 individuals received assistance with tuition fees. That is a decrease of 8% and it is probably worse this year. Tom Boland, chief executive of the Higher Education Authority, said: "The HEA would be concerned if a lack of financial support is preventing less well-off students from continuing with their studies to postgraduate level." That is what seems to be happening.Peter Cassells, in the report of the expert group on higher education, says that supports for part-time and postgraduate students are very limited and urges an increase in payments. Will the Leader be kind enough to contact the Minister for Education and Skills and make these points?

Although our university rankings appear to be falling I gather the universities made mistakes in the way they presented the figures and we are much better off in terms of the rankings than appears. However, at a time when we do appear to be sinking due to lack of investment, investment in postgraduate students, and particularly maintenance for people who come from lower socio-economic levels, would be very important.