Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 12 Nov 2009

Vol. 694 No. 3

Higher Education Grants.

Deputy John O’Mahony

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this urgent matter. It is no reflection on the Minister of State, Deputy Kelleher, because he needs answers as badly as I do, but I am disappointed not to see the Minister here. He was in the House an hour ago to cast a vote. The only thing that will excuse him is if he has gone to the bank to get the money to pay to these students.

I said this is an urgent matter but to be honest, it is a crisis. Thousands of students applied for maintenance grants in August but many of their applications have not been processed. Those whose applications have been processed have not got any money yet. This is intolerable and it relates to every constituency. Deputy Brian Hayes, our party spokesman on education, attempted to raise this matter this morning on the Order of Business. The Minister, or somebody on his behalf, needs to give answers to the students and the parents of Ireland who are waiting out there this evening. The delays being experienced right around the country are completely unacceptable. That many students will have to wait until 2010 is a farce. Yesterday's papers noted that there are now more students in Ireland than farmers. This perfectly illustrates my point. Many of the parents of these students are farmers who have seen their incomes slashed or else are people who have lost their jobs in the construction industry or the service industry. They need to have these grants paid out immediately.

Many county councils are advising students to get the money to bridge the gap either from their parents or to take out loans. The banks are not giving money to anyone and particularly not to students. If students could get the money from their parents in the first place, they would not be eligible for grants. This situation would be funny if it was not so serious and it needs to be addressed immediately by the Government.

I hope I will not be given the usual platitudes and spin that are used in replies from Ministers. Students have enough stress and trauma coming up to their exams. Many of them have been told they will not be allowed sit their exams or to attend lectures in some cases if they have not registered or do not pay the registration fee immediately. Payment of grants has been slow in other years but, at this stage of the year, students would have received the first portion of their grant and would be awaiting the second portion. This situation cannot be defended.

The Student Support Bill was introduced in this House in 2008 and it has not been progressed by the Minister or the Government since then. This Bill was published over a year ago but has not yet reached Committee Stage and this is a disgrace. This mess with the grants could have been averted if that Bill had been passed. We need action today on these grants and we need action immediately on the Student Support Bill.

Deputy Billy Kelleher

The Minister sends his apologies for his absence. As a practising politician, I understand the seriousness of the situation and I assure the Deputy that I will not give him any spin or PR in my reply, just the facts of the situation we are trying to address.

I thank the Deputy for giving me this opportunity to outline the position of the Department of Education and Science regarding applications by students for funding under the student support schemes. I am pleased to inform the House that the Department of Education and Science funds four maintenance grant schemes for third level and further education students. These are the higher education grants scheme, the vocational education committees' scholarship scheme, the third level maintenance grants scheme for trainees and the maintenance grant scheme for students attending post-leaving certificate courses. The higher education grants scheme is administered by the local authorities. The other three schemes are administered by the vocational education committees.

Under the terms of the maintenance grant schemes, grant assistance is awarded to students who meet the prescribed condition of funding including those which relate to nationality, residency, means and previous academic attainment. The Local Authorities (Higher Education Grants) Acts 1968 to 1992 provide for the making of grants by local authorities to enable persons to attend approved courses of higher education. The process whereby local authorities assess eligibility and make grant payments under the higher education grants scheme is provided for under these Acts. The organisation and management of student support scheme grants is a matter for individual vocational educational committees and local authorities. These bodies seek to ensure that students are given decisions on their grant applications and are paid as soon as possible. It is acknowledged that some students are experiencing delays in the processing of their grant applications. Every effort is being made by local authorities and VECs to ensure that students are given decisions on their grant applications and are paid as soon as possible. It is understood that the awarding bodies received an unprecedented number of applications this year and that they are still getting late applications daily.

The Deputy will appreciate that in the context of the current economic circumstances, difficult choices had to be made by Government in order to control public expenditure and to ensure sustainability in the long run. In that regard, the Deputy will be aware of the Government decision to implement a recruitment and promotion moratorium in the public sector. The Minister acknowledges the difficulties which VECs and local authorities are experiencing because of the moratorium which may in some instances be affecting the processing of grants. Our difficult economic circumstances mean that tough choices had to be made to control public expenditure and to ensure sustainability in the long run.

It is inevitable that staffing constraints on public bodies will lead to certain pressures on services. The bodies are endeavouring to ensure that the work associated with the processing of grants will be prioritised. I understand the significant pressures on the staff of the VECs and local authorities and I know they are doing everything possible to process the applications as quickly as possible. The moratorium on public sector recruitment will have an impact on the availability of staff to process these applications. The staff are making every effort——

Deputy John O’Mahony

The students are suffering.

Deputy Billy Kelleher

——within the resources available. We are very conscious of the pressures on students.

The efforts of the VECs and local authorities have to be acknowledged in these challenging circumstances. Apart from the pressures associated with the volume of applications, a significant number of outstanding grant applications have not been processed in full because they are incomplete. I remind students and their parents to return all necessary supporting documentation as early as possible to help the awarding bodies make prompt decisions on entitlement.

The Higher Education Authority has asked institutions to be flexible in respect of the payment of the student services charge for those still awaiting a decision on their grant application. We are very conscious of the situation for students. I am a public representative and people have been in touch with my office and clinic in this regard. I must acknowledge the pressure under which the staff in the VECs and local authorities as well as students are operating.

The Dáil adjourned at 5.20 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 17 November 2009.