Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail)
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No. 1 is statements on the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Education and Skills report on the eligibility of maintenance grants to students - Wake-up SUSI. I welcome the Minister of State at the Department of Education and Skills, Deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor, to the House. I invite the Minister of State to make her opening statement.

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I am delighted to be invited to Seanad Éireann today to speak on the report on the eligibility of maintenance grants to students - Wake-up SUSI. I welcome the report from the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills, which adds to the debate on the future funding of the higher education sector. The report makes five recommendations and I will deal with each of these in turn before discussing the statutory provisions regarding approved institutions, future funding options for the higher sector and the Government’s response to these funding challenges.

The first recommendation is that the eligibility reckoner on the SUSI website should clearly indicate to applicants if their preferred college is eligible for grant support. The eligibility reckoner on the SUSI website is a tool designed to give students an indication of their likely eligibility for a grant. It is not a definitive determination of an applicant’s eligibility for grant support. This determination can only be made by SUSI upon receipt of all relevant documents that form part of a grant application. The recommendation regarding the eligibility reckoner on the SUSI website has been brought to the attention of SUSI and will be considered in the context of the annual review of the scheme for 2018.

The second recommendation is for the Department to undertake a review of the CAO application process to clearly identify the college courses and colleges that qualify for a SUSI grant. Higher education institutions are autonomous and academically independent and they set the entry criteria for admissions to their courses. While higher education institutions have delegated the task of processing course applications to the Central Applications Office, they retain the function of making decisions on their entry requirements. The Department does not have a role in relation to the operation of the CAO or the admission of students to third level institutions. I understand that it would be technically possible for the CAO to identify colleges which are not eligible for SUSI grants but any decision to identify colleges in this way is likely to meet with resistance from the private colleges.

The third recommendation proposes that, subject to a course and college being Quality and Qualifications Ireland, QQI, approved, eligibility for a maintenance grant should be based on the means of the student rather than on the choice of college. QQI validation is valued by higher education institutions, as it indicates to potential students that the validated programmes have met the quality assurance requirements of the State regulator. The fact that a programme has been validated by QQI does not confer any status on the provider or programme with regard to eligibility for public funding.

The fourth recommendation suggests that students enrolled at private colleges should, if eligible under the relevant SUSI criteria, be entitled to the same value of SUSI funding for payment of annual degree course fees that they would receive at an equivalent course in a State-funded higher education institution. The criteria that a higher education institution has to meet in order to be considered an approved institution for student grant funding purposes are outlined in section 7 of the Student Support Act of 2011. No additional institutions have been added to the scheme since the passing of the 2011 Act. Any consideration to extend the list of approved institutions would not only have to consider the potential impact on existing approved institutions but also other institutions both in Ireland and across the EU. To extend the student grant scheme to all Higher Education Colleges Association, HECA, colleges is estimated to cost approximately €17 million per annum. This is a rolling figure which is likely to rise to €34 million in year 2 and so on.

Can I ask the Acting Chairman if I will be told if there is a vote in Dáil Éireann?

Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail)
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This Chamber has no direct communication with the Dáil Chamber. Perhaps one of the Minister of State's officials will notify her. This is a separate Chamber. I am sure they will send for her.

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The division would normally be at about this time every Thursday.

Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail)
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I am sorry to interrupt the Minister of State but I wish to put her mind at ease. I have just learned that there has been a change and the votes the Minister of State was expecting will not now be taking place right now.

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Go raibh míle maith agat.

Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail)
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Tá fáilte romhat.

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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It would be difficult to extend the student support scheme to private colleges without also making provision for other supports such as the free fees, the student assistance fund and the fund for students with disabilities. These costs are not factored into the estimated €17 million figure. This is an estimate of the likely cost of extending the student support scheme but there is a difficulty in accurately estimating the costs involved. The Higher Education Authority does not collate data from private colleges. The Department is, therefore, reliant on information provided by the colleges themselves, or by HECA.

The fifth recommendation proposes that students enrolled in private colleges should be entitled to access the student assistance fund. The student assistance fund, SAF, was established in 1994 and is part funded by the European Social Fund. It provides financial assistance to students experiencing financial difficulties while attending third level education. Students can be assisted towards their rent, child care costs, transports costs and books or class materials. The SAF is open to full-time registered students on courses of not less than one year’s duration leading to an undergraduate or postgraduate qualification, with €1 million of this funding ring-fenced for part-time students from the target groups from 2018. There were some 15,700 students who benefitted from the SAF in 2015-16 at a cost of €7.84 million. The purpose of the SAF is to support full-time higher education students who are experiencing financial hardship while they study in publicly funded institutions. It is important to note that if the SAF was to be extended to private colleges without student grants also being made available there is the potential for considerably higher demand for it than is the case in existing institutions.In effect the student assistance fund, SAF, would become a proxy student grant scheme, which it is not resourced for.

The policy of providing free fees and grant aid to students in publicly-funded colleges and tax relief on fees paid in both public and approved private colleges is a long-established feature in Ireland. The criteria that a higher education institution has to meet to be considered an approved institution for student grant funding purposes are outlined in section 7 of the Student Support Act 2011. The student grant scheme has a statutory basis. To qualify for student supports under the scheme, students must be attending an approved programme at an approved institution. The list of institutions is outlined each year in the student support regulations which provide the necessary detail about a number of issues that are provided for in the Act. In 2017, the Department of Education and Skills will spend approximately €450 million on a range of access measures for further and higher education students. This includes approximately €390 million on student grants and related activities, which is expected to benefit approximately 80,000 students.

Further funding for the higher education sector is a key concern of Government. The reality of the economic situation and the public expenditure corrections which had to be made in recent years presented challenges across all areas of public expenditure, including higher education. In recognition of the resulting funding pressures in the higher education sector, an expert group chaired by Peter Cassells was established to examine funding arrangements for higher education and to identify a range of approaches that, combined, will achieve a sustainable funding base. The Cassells report was published in July 2016 and clearly outlines the funding challenges being experienced in the sector, across capital, current and student support expenditure. The report highlighted the need for additional funding of €600 million per annum by 2021 and €1 billion per annum by 2030 to both keep pace with rising student demographics and to improve quality through reducing the staff to student ratio from the current 20:1 to 14:1.

Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail)
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I am sorry to interrupt the Minister of State again but contrary to what I just told her, it seems there is a vote. It is not the normal vote that she was anticipating but another vote in the Dáil on an amendment to the Finance Bill which she may have to attend.

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Yes, I have to attend. Apologies. I will make my way back.

Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail)
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I ask the acting Leader to suspend-----

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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I have a text in from an official to say that I am now paired.

Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail)
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Very good.

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The Cassells report put forward three funding options for consideration. One is a predominantly State-funded system. This involves a significantly increased core grant to institutions and the abolition of the student contribution. Higher education would be free at the point of entry for all first-time EU students and for part-time learners with the possibility of extending free tuition to postgraduate students. The second option is increased State funding with continuing student fees. This would involve a considerable increase in State funding with retention of the current up-front student contribution and continuing fees for postgraduate students. The third option is increased State funding with deferred payment of fees through income-contingent loans. This option allows for the abolition of the student contribution to be replaced by a system of income-contingent loans provided by the State. Increased State funding will still be required. As committed to in the programme for Government, the report has been referred to the Joint Committee on Education and Skills as part of the process for formulating a plan for the future of the sector. The recommendation from the joint committee will inform future decisions in this policy area.

While the Cassells report deals with the medium and long-term funding needs of higher education, the Government has been cognisant of the immediate funding challenges in the sector. It was in this context in budget 2017 that the Minister, Deputy Richard Bruton, secured additional funding for the sector. This involved an additional €36.5 million which was made available to higher education for 2017 and €160 million of additional funding over three years. The additional funding of €36.5 million included €8.5 million for various access measures targeted at the most disadvantaged postgraduate students, lone parents, a new 1916 bursary scheme, and targeted funding to incentivise higher education institutions to attract more students from disadvantaged communities. The Government's commitment to continuing investment in higher education was further evidenced in the recent budget 2018 in which the higher education sector will benefit from a total investment package of €60 million in additional funding in 2018. This funding is on top of the €36.5 million that was secured for 2017 and which is being provided again in 2018. The €60 million funding package includes €4 million for the continued roll-out of the postgraduate measure and the 1916 bursary scheme, announced in budget 2017. In total, the Government will invest €100 million more in higher and further education in 2018 than in 2016.

The number of students seeking a place in higher education is increasing and is scheduled to continue to rise up to 2030 which poses a significant financial challenge. A need is clearly outlined in the Cassells report to appropriately resource the State's higher education institutions to cater for the projected increase in student numbers and to provide a quality learning experience for those students. The additional funding provided over 2017 and 2018 will allow for the continued provision for higher education programmes and services for the existing student cohort as well as providing an additional 2,100 student places in 2018. With limited public resources available to the Department overall and the number of competing priorities across the sector, to extend access to the student grant scheme and student assistance fund, and by extension the free fees funding and the fund for disabilities, to other institutions or cohorts of students that are not currently covered under these initiatives without significant additional investment would involve reducing the level of funding for existing institutions and students.

Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail)
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The group spokespersons will have eight minutes and other speakers will have five minutes. I call Senator Robbie Gallagher.

Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the Minister of State. The concluding statement from the SUSI group sums up what it is looking for.Wake-up SUSI is looking for equality of treatment for students from low-income and single-parent families who want to attend the higher education college of their choice. They want fairness for all.

That basically sums up why we are here this afternoon and what we are attempting to do. In common with others present, I am a member of the Joint Committee on Education and Skills and we had the pleasure of having the SUSI group appear before us. I compliment them on the way they organised themselves and on the presentation they gave to the committee. All members of the committee were impressed by their work and by the recommendations made by that group. All members of the Joint Committee on Education and Skills were in agreement with them.

All agree that education is the single big game changer, especially for those who come from a disadvantaged areas or single-parent families. It is imperative that no obstacle is put in their way in accessing third level education if that is the path that they decide to do down. The group has made recommendations, many of which have been comprehensively addressed by the Minister. In a general sense, the points they make, all of which are fairly reasonable, reflect their experience of dealing with this particular aspect of education. They talk about the rigidity and ruthlessness of the SUSI eligibility guidelines. I will give an example. I encountered a case recently in which two of a family with 11 children were going to college. They were slightly over the threshold and hoped that some consideration would be given to the size of the family to enable the two children to go to college. Unfortunately, that flexibility was not in the system. That might be something we should bring on board, that is, in such special circumstances some flexibility should be given. Members can imagine the cost of bringing up 11 children and trying to pay a mortgage. The disposable income they had was limited and neither spouse was on an exorbitant salary. This should be borne in mind.

The lack of clarity as to which courses would or would not qualify for SUSI grants also was mentioned. Again, I imagine a simple housekeeping exercise could be undertaken to make clear what courses qualify or do not qualify for grants. The other issue concerns private colleges as some people have no choice but to go to a private college. The numbers, however, are quite small and consideration could be given to making eligible for a grant those who attend and undertake courses at private colleges.

The role of education in the recovery of this economy cannot be overstated. We would not be where we are today if we did not have a successful third level reputation, which is something we should continue to hold dear. We are at something of a crossroads at present, in that everybody agrees there is a lack of funding in the third level sector. I compliment Mr. Cassells and his people on the work they did in producing the Cassells report, which laid out in stark reality what options face us in future on the funding of third level education. Any funding going into third level is money well spent and we get our money back time and time again when people gain employment and so on. The Joint Committee on Education and Skills is undertaking a huge volume of work at present by listening to the views of all the different stakeholders involved and may come up with a recommendation shortly with its views on the future funding of third level education. The one common theme for all its members is the last thing they want to do is to create any obstacles to the ability of young people to access third level education. That is vitally important.

Fees are one thing and the lack of fees is a big issue. We also must not lose contact with the fact that those from outside the major cities in which the universities are located have the added cost of trying to seek and find accommodation and then trying to fund it. It is a huge issue and in Dublin in particular, many families simply cannot afford at present to pay the rent landlords are seek or even the rents for which some third level organisations with own accommodation on campus are asking. That is sad because it is the difference between a child being able to go to third level or not. Clearly this must be looked at, especially for those students from outside the capital who must travel from rural Ireland on a weekly basis to attend college.

I mentioned the Cassells report and the Minister of State also should be cognisant of the point that third level is not for everyone. While some work is being done with regard to apprenticeships, it may be an area in which we could be doing a lot more work. The issue of trades might not be as sexy, if the expression can be excused, as going to third level college but it is vitally important-----

Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail)
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Senator, time.

Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail)
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-----that apprenticeships be promoted more because we will need plumbers and electricians more than ever. More also needs to be done in relation in this regard. In conclusion, I thank the Minister of State for her presence. I again compliment the work of the SUSI group and in the interests of everyone involved, the recommendations they have put before us here today should be investigated and implemented as soon as possible.

Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail)
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I call Senator Byrne, who has eight minutes.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I welcome the Minister of State to the House today and as Senator Gallagher has noted, the Joint Committee on Education and Skills has been looking at the Cassells report and the Wake-up SUSI report. The Wake-up SUSI campaign was started by a group of students from my own native Limerick who attend Griffith College and some of them are in Dublin, as well as in the business college in Castletroy. Approximately 140 students are affected by this at present. They met the Minister of State recently and have met the Minister, Deputy Bruton, in the past. They certainly have run a successful campaign. All of the points they have made are valid. A number of them are from low-income families. The same course may be on offer in Dublin or in Cork but the problem for a lot of them is they cannot afford to travel. It keeps down the cost for them to be able to stay at home. Some of them are single parents who have applied for the course. What has added to their confusion is that some colleges that offer courses have advertised on the CAO form but did not make it clear that such courses were not eligible under the SUSI grant. That has caused a layer of confusion for students.

Some other private colleges are accredited by the institutes of technology and because of that are eligible for SUSI grants. I am aware of a music course, for example, and a number of other courses that fall into this category. Some people have learning difficulties and find that attending private colleges with smaller class sizes is easier for them than sitting in a big group of maybe 200 people at a lecture. Some valid cases are being made by the students.Approximately 140 have been affected and some are afraid they will have to drop out if they are not eligible for the grant because they will not be able to afford the fees. Many have had to get part-time jobs. However, I compliment the Department on providing increased funding.

We want to encourage people to go to third level but also to pursue training and apprenticeships. Many of the people who participate in these courses are in education for the second time. They might not have been encouraged to go to third level when they left school so they go back as young adults . They have families - who they do not want to leave at home - so they cannot afford to go to accredited colleges. If a number of students are given the SUSI grant, I am sure others will apply for it. However, our long-term aim is to encourage people into education and bigger classes do not suit everybody's needs. It is important that we examine the circumstances behind why people apply to go to private colleges. In many cases it is because the college is on their doorstep and they cannot afford to go to the universities or the institutes of technology in other cities. They offer the same courses and they get the same accreditation as those who go to the universities and the institutes but who can avail of the SUSI grant.

Students made their case to the Minister and I support their case. Anything the Department can do to support them would help. There was a cross-party recommendation from all members on the education committee because we were very impressed with the case that was made.

Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein)
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I commend the Joint Committee on Education and Skills on carrying out this report and I encourage the committee to further investigate the SUSI grant system because there is much to be done across the board for our students. There are recommendations in the report which we welcome and there are some about which we hold some reservations. We agree that there needs to be a review of the SUSI website to ensure that students are clear as to whether they are eligible and whether their third-level institution of choice is eligible in the context of SUSI grants.

The testimony of students who have gone through the process of applying through the CAO, completing their examinations and being accepted into a college only to discover they are not eligible to obtain the maintenance grant makes it clear that the system is flawed. The ambiguity and confusion relating to the system is unfair to students and their parents. Other major reforms not included in this report are required in the context of SUSI. A large number of students do not qualify for many grants based on the fact that gross income is used to calculate the rates. We need to focus on how the grant scheme can be reformed to ensure a more equitable system whereby more students from disadvantaged backgrounds qualify and are supported throughout their State-delivered education.

There are some matters that need to be teased out. We know that there are two parts to the SUSI grant. The first part is a maintenance grant to the student and the second is the State contribution to the institutional fees. Is the report recommending that students who attend private institutions be given access to both avenues of funding or simply the maintenance grant? If a student within the private education model is eligible for a SUSI grant, then there is a discussion to be held around access to the maintenance grant. We know that money which goes into the hands of a socioeconomically disadvantaged student will be important to his or her welfare and well-being. Sinn Féin has a concern, however, regarding the State directly financing and subsidising private third-level institutions and about money going from the State to directly benefit big business in the private sector. We are talking about a rolling privatisation of our third-level system and that cannot be on the agenda of anyone concerned about funding for our public sector. Rather than the State subsidising yet another privately-owned institution, we should be encouraging students to attend State-funded colleges and investigating the reasons why students feel the need to attend private colleges in the first place. What needs are our State-funded third-level institutions not providing that the private ones are? Anecdotal evidence suggests the facilities in private colleges tend to be of a lower standard than in our public third-level institutions.

There needs to be much greater regulation of the private college sector. Such regulation should cover the pay and working conditions of staff. I understand that precarious work, lower pay and low-hour contracts can be particularly prevalent in the private college sector, which needs to be tackled. I have also received expressions of concerns from a number of full-time staff in our public university, the University of Limerick, where there has been a growing trend toward precarious work and zero-hour contracts which can only be to the detriment of our third-level education system.

If we are to address the failings of the SUSI grant, rather than investing money into subsidising the private education system, should we not further invest in our publicly-funded education system? We could extend the grant threshold to students whose households earn more than €50,000 and increase the number of students who could then attend public institutions. We continue to hear countless stories of students not being able to attend public third-level institutions, let alone private ones, because their parents earn over €50,000 combined and can therefore not access vital grants. Those are the students and families we should prioritise. We should also ensure the disability access schemes to public colleges receive better funding. We could even put the money towards decreasing tuition fees in our public third-level institutions. In fact, we should scrap tuition fees altogether and this is one of the points that distinguish our party from the parties of the right.

We should reverse the horrendous cuts the education system has been subjected to over the past seven years. Under Fine Gael and the Labour Party, State funding of third level plummeted by an incredible 25%, grants were cut, students who were dependent on that assistance went for months without help and many dropped out of college altogether, having been literally priced out of education. Participation from those in the lower socioeconomic groupings in our society in public colleges is now at 26% while we have practically full participation from those born into the higher professional grouping. These statistics tell us that, at present, access to third level is not on merit but is a lottery based on which family and which area a person is born into. That level of gross inequality is, unfortunately, Government policy-driven.

It is the State's responsibility to ensure that all of our children shall have access to third-level public institutions. It should be the right of every young person in the country and we should not have to rely on private universities or private colleges to provide services which we cannot provide. As the largest party of the left in this country, Sinn Féin wants to build a consensus among progressive parties and garner broad support for an education system which would be fully publicly-funded and accessible to all citizens. Is this even on the Government's agenda? I have to say I do not think so. Many students cannot access third level, State-funded education and many others drop out for financial reasons. Our focus needs to be on greater reform to avoid these situations. Our guiding principle must be that asserted by the Union of Students in Ireland, that education is a right, not a privilege.

Kieran O'Donnell (Fine Gael)
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Limerick city has many third-level institutions, including the University of Limerick, UL, Mary Immaculate College, now called MIC, and Limerick Institute of Technology, LIT, but it also has many private colleges, including Griffith College and Limerick City College. I commend the report of the education committee because it highlights practical measures to be taken.People are coming to us who are doing a course in a private college, typically with Griffith College. It is the same as anywhere else and yet one person qualifies for a grant and one does not. The Cassells report has been produced and I have seen the costs involved. Many of these private colleges have been there for years and they are part of the social fabric. One that we all know nationally is Griffith College. I attended there many years ago when I was studying chartered accountancy. It was the previous incarnation of Griffith College at that time. We are always looking for equity in education and the question arises in respect of Wake-up SUSI. The Cassells report is relatively recent, from 2016, but is there some way that the Minister might do a review to ascertain whether something has not been seen? Is there some way in which we can give some alleviation to students who are from low-income families to ensure that people are not treated differently or discriminated against because they are in a private college doing a course rather than a public college? This is something we need to look at. The tax measures that apply in the private colleges will only be of benefit to those paying tax. Many of the parents of such students might not be paying tax. Their income might be relatively low or if they are paying tax, the fees would not get full tax relief.

Can a review be carried out on this one particular item? Can it be taken from the Cassells report and examined to see if something can be done? These colleges have not been set up in the morning and many of them have built up credibility. They are offering an array of recognised degrees. Griffith College will have a graduation ceremony this evening for some of their students. It a regular feature and is no different from any other third level institution. The Minister of State might ask her officials to have a fresh look to ascertain whether something can be done for students attending reputable private institutions in which exactly the same qualifications are gained as in a publically-funded State institution. In one institution, students qualify for grants while in the other, they do not. I am glad to contribute to this worthwhile debate. It is all about education and perhaps the Minister of State might have a fresh look outside the box at this issue.

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I call Senator Ó Ríordáin. As the first Labour Party contributor, you are entitled to eight minutes if you want to use them.

Aodhán Ó Ríordáin (Labour)
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I welcome the Minister of State to the House. While it is a worthwhile report, I feel the issues in it tinker around the edges. The last time the Minister of State was in this Chamber, we had a long discussion about third level funding and about income-contingent loan schemes or the potential for their introduction. She made the point that she was waiting for the Joint Committee on Education and Skills to come up with proposals to react to the Cassells report. Once the committee did its work the Minister of State said she would react to it. I do not think that washes anymore as a political answer. It is time for the Minister of State and her Department to take leadership in this area. I am still exasperated at the her ministerial colleague in the same Department, the Minister, Deputy Bruton, who still will not state he believes in equality in education in terms of pay and will not commit to the vision of free education. The Union of Students in Ireland, USI, have launched a campaign and the Labour Party has launched a campaign to have a vision for free education at all levels, namely, primary, secondary and third level. The Minister of State's response to our debate was that the Joint Committee on Education and Skills should be allowed to do its work and then to come back to her. That is not good enough. The Joint Committee on Education and Skills is not in charge of education policy in the country. The Minister of State and her Department are. She should be driving the agenda; not the Joint Committee on Education and Skills. If the committee has not got down to doing the work, is not conducting hearings and is nowhere near producing a report on it, the Minister of State then must step in as the visionary for higher level education in this country. Hiding behind the Joint Committee on Education and Skills, regardless of the standard of contributor to that committee, is just not good enough. We need from the Minister of State a strong commitment to a vision for free education. No one suggests this can happen overnight, in one budget or even in a number of budgets. It might be possible over five years or perhaps over ten years. However, were that vision to be announced by the Minister of State and her ministerial colleague in the same Department, we might be able to work together to achieve it. Until this point, however, the Minister of State has been hiding behind the Joint Committee on Education and Skills and saying it is up to it to come up with proposals. It is not; it is actually up to the Minister, her ministerial colleague and their Department to set out that vision as to how third level education should be funded and to set out the vision for free education. That is something I believe we should all be able to share and work towards with the Minister.

My final point is when we were in government with Fine Gael, one of the biggest rows we had was over the issue of grants for third level. The contention of the Labour Party is that PAYE workers are constantly taking up the tab for others who find access to third level grants, be they maintenance grants or other grants, because of the magic wand of accountants that certain self-employed professions are able to employ. I recall an example of one individual who had €250,000 in a savings account but was still eligible for a full suite of grants for his children to attend third level education. A PAYE worker would not be able to do that. These matters are assessed on need but the suggestion that we would have any kind of a capital assets test, in whatever way, was hugely resisted by the Minister's own party in government and we did not get very far on introducing that. In a system where approximately 45% to 50% of students are availing of some level of grants and it costs approximately €300 million a year to administer these grants, I would have assumed that the most vulnerable of students would be the ones who would avail of these grants and not those who have accountants who can move the money around. Unfortunately, that remains the case. I have two questions for the Minister of State. Does she believe in free education and will she stop hiding behind the Joint Committee on Education and Skills in order that she can verbalise that vision and work towards it? What is the position in respect of the capital asset test and can we look forward to a day when PAYE workers will not always be asked to pick up the tab for those who can avail of accountants who can hide assets and therefore get the grants they do not deserve?

Denis O'Donovan (Fianna Fail)
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I call Senator Warfield. He has five minutes.

Fintan Warfield (Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I join my colleague, Senator Gavan, in thanking the committee for its work. I am glad to have the opportunity to join the discussion relating the third level maintenance grant. I commend the Wake-up SUSI campaign group and support its cause. The grant needs to be more robust. There have been ongoing issues with that grant since my time in Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology. Grants need to support anyone in third level who needs means assistance, which was the original intention of the maintenance grant. However, through years of Government indifference towards students, we now have a system that is not fit for purpose. It is a system that does not cater for those who have lower incomes. We have a system where the income limits and grant awards have been cut by successive Governments despite the cost of living increases.It does not consider the extortionate price of rental accommodation that students face or the increases in the cost of transport, books and utilities. Governments were warned against this by the Union of Students in Ireland, USI, and the National Youth Council of Ireland, NYCI. Indeed, the DIT cost of living survey conducted in summer of this year found that the average cost to attend college for a student in Dublin was €12,495 and €11,766 elsewhere.

A household can often have two or three students at college at the same time but the grant does not allow for any easing in terms of income limits up to the level of four dependent children. The gross income for a household must be below €45,000 for a student to receive any level of maintenance. At that limit, the cost of living is covered to a maximum of 6.4%. The income limits of the grant do not recognise the actual lived experience of students in 2017. Students from lower and middle income households are struggling which is why student assistance fund applications have sky rocketed.

Sinn Féin believes the Minister should initiate an affordability review of third level education. There would be some stark findings for the Department in such a review. The Minister should also review the adjacency rate change, made in 2011, which extended the distance criteria from 24 km to 45 km. The implication was that all students living within 45 km of a college were expected to commute. This did not take into account the location of a college vis-à-visthe transport infrastructure in an area, meaning that it has had a more serious impact on rural communities. The move was made without considering how it might play out.

I join other Senators in thanking the students from Griffith College student's union for their report which highlights one of the many issues with the student grant. I hope the Minister identifies this as an opportunity to right that wrong.

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Higher education is a key enabler which will allow us to grow our economy by enabling us to respond to the changing needs of our society. It enables growth and innovation through high quality research and learning, facilitates the self-actualisation of citizens, opens up access routes for under-represented groups and ensures that Ireland Inc. remains an attractive place in which to invest.

To deliver on these key social and economic priorities, the Government needs to make the right choices. We need to prioritise investment across a key range of areas, across society and within education. Decisions on the future funding of student supports will be informed by the consideration of the options contained in the Cassells report published in July 2016. As committed to in the programme for Government, the report has been referred to the relevant Oireachtas committee. Out of respect for that committee, I am awaiting its report before any making any decisions in that regard. I am happy to give a commitment in Seanad Éireann today that once I get the report from the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Education and Skills, I will bring it to Cabinet and decisions will be made.

While the Cassells report deals with the medium and long-term funding needs of higher education, the Government has been cognisant of the immediate funding challenges in the sector. It was in this context that additional moneys were secured in budgets 2017 and 2018 for the higher education sector. This year, for the first time, the budget for education has exceeded €10 billion, some €2.6 billion of which is for higher and further education. The Government, to be fair, has put its money where its mouth is and is investing in education. Admittedly, we need more investment in higher and further education but this year's budget is a statement of intent in the sense that it provided a substantial increase for the sector. There will be €200 million in public, private partnerships for the 11 institutes of technology. A commitment was also made last year to invest an additional €100 million in higher and further education, bringing the total to be spent on capital between 2018 and 2021 to €360 million. Additional money was also provided in budget 2017 for access plans targeting disadvantaged groups. Last year, funding for these plans amounted to €36.5 million while this year, €60 million was provided on top of the €36.5 million. There is a serious commitment in that context.

I was asked about the CAO issue, which I fully recognise because the Wake-up SUSI group made a very strong case to me. The CAO is planning to put a link on its website to the SUSI list of approved courses for 2018, which I welcome. Another Senator referred to tax relief. Such relief is available at the standard rate for all fees, including those of private colleges.

The additional money that I have just mentioned will be targeted at various access measures such as maintenance grants for the most disadvantaged postgraduate students, lone parents, a

new 1916 bursary scheme and measures to incentivise higher education institutions to attract more students from disadvantaged communities. Other higher education activities that will benefit from the additional funding include inter alia research, skills, technological universities and institutional mergers, flexible learning, demographics and the international education strategy.

While the State provides some Exchequer funding to private higher education institutions in certain instances, for example, through the Springboard programme and an ICT skills conversion programme, this is very different from a proposal to extend the free fees initiative and student supports to students in private institutions. To do so would require significant additional investment at a time when there are challenges in meeting existing levels of demand. We also need to be cognisant of other cohorts of students who would benefit from accessing the free fees initiative and the student grant scheme if resources were available. In particular, these include part-time students, postgraduate students and repeat students. In the decisions it has taken, the Government has sought to prioritise funding where it will be most effective.

I have great ambitions for what can be achieved in higher education. I understand that the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Education and Skills is finalising its deliberations and is due to report

to the Minister for Education and Skills in the near future.

A number of other issues were raised during the debate. A Senator asked a question about larger families. There are different income thresholds for families with fewer than four dependent children, families with four to seven children and families with eight or more children. There are increments available when additional students are attending college. There are different grant rates for those children. The student assistance fund is also available.

I think I have covered most of the points made.I have taken on board the points that Senators Gavan, Gallagher, Byrne, Kieran O'Donnell, Ó Riordáin and Warfield have made and will consider them and talk to the officials about them. I think I have answered most of the questions that have come up here today.