Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 17:

In page 25, between lines 2 and 3, to insert the following:"(5) That the Minister may establish a specific section within the student support scheme of SUSI to address all potential post Brexit queries from students.".".

This is a simple amendment. We have tabled it because there are 10,000 students from the Republic of Ireland in Britain and 2,426 students from Britain here. Not all of them receive SUSI grants but approximately 1,700 do. There is significant concern over fees, which has been raised with the Minister in committee. There is a lack of understanding as to why we cannot simply give a solid guarantee to students from the North that the fees will continue to be completely aligned with those of the Republic. We are anticipating a large number of queries following Brexit, particularly - God forbid - if there is a no-deal Brexit, and we need to be prepared.

In the past, SUSI has had difficulties in responding to peaks in demand, despite the wonderful staff who work there. Most people would agree there will be a demand related to issues such as eligibility from people studying in Britain and some of the British studying here who receive SUSI support. Rather than walk into another minefield where leads to a crisis in the response to students, it would be prudent, moderate and just good common sense to set up a specific section to deal with it. I hope the Minister will not be a captive of his Department on the issue and will work with us to support the amendment.