Neale Richmond (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am very grateful to the Minister of State for her remarks, which are welcome and provide a lot of information. I am hopeful in terms of the work that will be done between the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, the Minister, Deputy Flanagan, and their Departments. Much of this feeds into the Minister of State's current role, particularly in the higher education sector, when we consider the many people coming here and the fees they face.

On the proposals, there needs to be third discussion that is reactive and, crucially, swift. I received a petition last week signed by more than 6,000 people who are affected by this issue. I passed it on to the Taoiseach and I look forward to the follow-up meeting with the Minister, Deputy Humphreys, but we need swift reform. I cannot state firmly enough that this is not just about realising the economic potential, which is so obvious to our country as we seek to be that island at the centre of the world. We have a responsibility on a human level. I mentioned in my earlier remarks that I met this morning with representatives of a very large technology company that is struggling to fill positions. It now finds itself opening up for coffee just that the spouses will have somewhere to go because they feel isolated, unable to work and unable to truly integrate in our society.