I wish to raise the matter of the ongoing impasse in the dispute in County Westmeath Vocational Education Committee which affects the payments of grants to third level students. The trade dispute among the administrative staff of Westmeath Vocational Education Committee has been ongoing for some time and as a result up to this week a considerable number of third level students attending colleges throughout the country are unable to get access to their sanctioned grants. I am sure the concerns of the staff are legitimate and my exercise tonight is not to castigate them for making their demand but to ask the Minister to ensure there is direct intervention to have the impasse resolved.
It is not good enough that a large number of third level students, many of whom are from homes with a financial disadvantage, are left without their grants. I have spoken to some of the students involved and, in many cases, to their parents who cannot continue to fund their children, who in turn cannot continue in college. While this school term has virtually come to an end, the dispute is allowed to fester. In my experience in the Department of Education I never witnessed an incident such as this, with the adoption of a prolonged non-interventionist approach to what is a decidedly difficult situation for many families.
I would ask the Minister and Department officials to make a determined effort to intervene in the dispute to ensure the difficult circumstances in which many students find themselves are alleviated and the grants are paid before Christmas.
