Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Government is looking into the matter. The loan's withdrawal was not of the Government's doing; it was sprung upon the Government, and now the Government is dealing with the matter as quickly as it can. The Minister of State has made it clear that he is in talks with the bank.

The Senator is right, in that the risk attached to this loan is minimal. That is why the bank is prepared to delay for four years, with no repayments. It will suspend interest for those four years as well. There is a market to recruit into the loan facility and the level of earnings at the end is enough to meet the repayments.

This is a priority for the Government. We do not want to be in such a situation where we cannot recruit young people into these courses because they cannot afford them.