Fiona O'Loughlin (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This is my fourth time addressing the Seanad but it is my first time speaking in the actual Seanad Chamber in Leinster House. I made a wish as I walked in. It is good to be in our own House at this point. The Minister is very welcome. I am looking forward to addressing a few points with him in respect of the reopening of our third level and further education colleges.I also wish to raise a few issues that I feel are pertinent for the Minister to explore further and discuss with Government colleagues.

As with the reopening of our primary schools in early September, the reopening of our third level and further education colleges has been a landmark event in our efforts to live with Covid-19. While, unfortunately, we have to accept that a full return to campus activity is not possible and that many universities are limiting on-campus activity, the start of classes across the sector is a significant achievement, and a testament to the educational establishments and their staff who are returning.

We are keenly aware that students are going to miss out on important experiences that usually come hand-in-hand with the start of a new term, including events such as orientation, because the celebrations associated with this phase of term will not now take place. This is really unfortunate for those young people affected. I am mindful of the mental health of our students, particularly those who are starting, because it is a big life milestone. We have to be mindful that they are starting out on a new journey without the supports that would normally be there and we have to ensure that all the support that can be given to promote positive mental health is put in place as they start this new journey in life.

I thank the Minister for his help and support with some issues I was dealing with on behalf of some students where clerical errors were made throughout the CAO process, although not on their part. In particular, it affected those who had changed schools in their leaving certificate year. I appreciated the way the Minister and his office dealt with the issues to ensure that the students obtained their rightful places, which was important.

I am also convinced that the issues which pre-date Covid-19 remain, and must be addressed. The need for additional funding, which is accompanied by increasing student numbers, remains, and focus is needed now more than ever on defining the future of the sector. The programme for Government makes a commitment to develop a long-term sustainable funding model for the sector, and the actions necessary to achieve this must be a priority of Government.

There are a few points I wish to make on accommodation at third level. I am reluctant to name specific institutions, but I understand that students were told by some universities to get accommodation because they had been promised that 30% of their time would be spent on campus. On the basis of that, students paid instalments. Then they were told that there would be zero hours spent on campus and that they would be refused refunds. There are mixed messages on this issue and we must get it right. I know of other situations, in a university not too far from the constituency of the Minister, where first-year students paid deposits for rooms on campus on the basis that they would be sharing with other students. They recently received notice that first-years would not be allowed to share accommodation, so the price of the accommodation was going to double. That is not on and cannot happen. It is only happening to first-year students, so I would appreciate it if the Minister could look into the matter.

Some universities provided an opportunity for students to sit an extra exam in order to matriculate when they reached sufficient CAO points, but others did not. I would like to see uniformity across the sector on this issue.

The last point I wish to raise relates to those with intellectual disabilities and their ability to access third level and further education. The Ability Programme and the 27 ability projects that support young people with disabilities to access further education, training and employment, is scheduled to close next June, and there is no thought, plan or budget as to what happens afterwards. The same happened in 2015 and there was a huge gap. I would hate to see this happening again.This was clearly pointed out in the Indecon report on guidance in education. We have to put more thought into how we support those with disabilities in accessing higher and further education.