Pauline Tully (Sinn Fein)

I welcome the Minister. I am delighted to have this opportunity to discuss a number of issues mentioned in this comprehensive motion, the first being apprenticeships. We know there is a huge need for apprenticeships, particularly in the construction sector. People tell me they cannot get a plumber for love nor money. Another woman told me her roof was damaged during Storm Éowyn and it was only two weeks ago she was able to get someone to come to repair it. We need to do everything we can to encourage as many people as possible to go into apprenticeships and to broaden apprenticeships to other areas as well. Some of this has already happened and that is welcome.

Many people are dropping out of apprenticeships. We need to look at why they are not completing their courses. Maybe it is partly because apprenticeships are taking longer than the four years they are supposed to due to backlogs in the system. There has been some investment in this area but there are still hold-ups and apprenticeships are taking longer. This combines with the very low rate of pay. I spoke to a man at the weekend who told me his son, after four years of doing something else, decided to enter an apprenticeship at the age of 22 and started off at €6.50 per hour. That is below the minimum wage for an under-18, never mind the minimum wage in general. His son is now in his second year and earning €8 per hour. That is not sustainable going forward for a young man at the age of 23, or if we want to encourage older people to enter apprenticeship programmes who have spouses and families they have to support as well. We need to examine the pay rate and at the time it is taking to complete an apprenticeship. I also advocate that any fees for apprenticeships be scrapped because we need to encourage as many people as possible to become apprentices in the different trades.

We need to encourage as many people as possible to enter higher and further education. For that to happen, we need equality of access. We still have quite high fees in Ireland compared with other countries in the EU. There was a reduction in fees during the past two years, which was welcome, but I am hearing on the grapevine that that will not be the case going into the next term. That is regrettable. We need to see a phasing out of fees, even by €500 per year over the term of the Government until they are reduced completely.

The SUSI grant system needs to be reviewed and reformed. The grant is based on gross income but it should be based on net income. Mortgage payments, the very high rents people are paying in particular and other essential expenditure should be taken into account when looking at eligibility.

Mature students - students aged over 23 - may have been living independently but due to the housing crisis are being forced to go back to live with their parents. If they decide to take on a new course or change profession, they are being denied the SUSI grant because their parents' income is being taken into account. That should not be happening. We need to take into account that people are being forced to live at home with their parents because there are no other options available to them.

The fact SUSI grants cannot be accessed for part-time courses means that disabled people, those who suffer from chronic pain and some autistic students who would not cope with a college environment and want to study online are deemed ineligible to apply for a SUSI grant. Will the Minister examine that to ensure the SUSI application process is much more inclusive and encourages as many people as possible to pursue a third level course? Regarding students who work outside of holiday time, many do not realise that their income is used as an assessment against SUSI grants. I felt really sorry for one student. She had done her leaving certificate and qualified for a place in college, but because her parents could not afford it - even with the SUSI grant, which they were eligible for - she decided to defer for a year, work for that year and save up her money so she would then be able to take on the course with the grant and get herself through the college. However, she found then she was not eligible for SUSI because of her income when it was combined with that of her parents. We need more information on that for students so they know exactly whether they will or will not qualify.

We also need a huge investment in student accommodation. Students are not able to live in the vicinity of the college, so they are not enjoying the whole experience of being a third level student. They are being forced to commute long distances, which is exhausting and is leading to many of them dropping out because they are not able to continue the course. Some developers who secured planning permission to build student accommodation made it so expensive that no student could possibly afford it. They apply for and are given permission for a change of use. That is something else that needs to be addressed so that we can ensure that student accommodation is in the areas students need it, it is affordable and it cannot be changed for alternative use, which many are trying to do.