Lorraine Clifford Lee (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister said internships are becoming increasingly important. They are also becoming increasingly more common. When I was in third level, it was very rare for an internship year to be part of the normal course of study. It is far more prevalent in today's society.

The Minister mentioned that students have access to the facilities in the third level institution, such as the library, during their internship year. While this is true, most of the students work for approximately 40 hours per week and will not be going back into the university to use the library. They are very busy during their working week. In reality, therefore, they do not access the services of the third level institution. While I accept that the Minister has limited scope in regard to the fees charged by third level institutions, perhaps there is scope for her to encourage them to reflect on the fees they charge to the increasing number of students who are taking the internship option as part of their courses and perhaps reduce the fees nominally to reflect the fact that the students are not using the college facilities.