Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

We should not look at the SUSI grant purely through the lens of financial means but also in the context of people's environment, situation, disability, ability and the professional background of their family members. There could be a kid who has, for their entire life, gone to a DEIS school that only has two kids a year go on to college who will be refused access to third level education based on means because their two parents may just have normal, everyday average-person jobs, but their income is slightly over the limit.

We need to start looking at intersectionality and positive discrimination in respect of some college places and having more ambitious quotas on the intersectionality of not only students but also staff. Looking at the access programme, and I am a graduate of the Trinity access programme, TAP, it kind of supports its own existence now. There are only, say, 20 mature students going through that every year. That is more than 20 years in place. Why are there still only 20 students? We are encouraging kids to do leaving certificate applied, LCA. If kids do that, they will not even be considered for an access programme, never mind an actual degree. We are encouraging kids to do LCA, which can be a great programme if it is done properly, but we are not even letting them into access programmes based on an LCA. It does not make any sense. An access programme should be the widest possible opportunity to take in any number of students.

I will finish on this. A piece of a research was published yesterday in The New York Timeswhich highlighted that the life expectancy for people without a college degree in the US is roughly 8.5 years less than those with a degree. I know it is a different context from ours, but it is worthwhile considering the impact that education and equality has on every aspect on someone’s life, even in terms of people needing social welfare, health equity, mental health and everything else. To be able to advocate for yourself with a certain level of education frees up many different areas in your life where you can transform not only your own family but everything around you, including communities. I encourage us to be a bit more ambitious when we think about access.