asked the Minister for Education whether advances made to training colleges in respect of fees payable on behalf of necessitous students are recoverable where such students fail to complete their training; whether he will state the amounts so recovered in each of the last three financial years, and the manner in which repayment of the advances is enforced.
Ceisteanna—Questions. Oral Answers. - Training College Fees.
The reply to the first part of the question is in the affirmative. It is not possible to give the information asked for in the second part of the question, as the only cases in which, up to the present, recovery has been or is being effected are those of ex-students who have entered the Civil Service. In these cases, repayment is by instalments of not less than 6 per cent. of the total annual emoluments. The amount of the training college fee represents a relatively small proportion of the total amount for which the ex-student is liable in respect of the cost of his training. The instalments are in respect of the total amount, and no record of the recovery of the fees, as a separate item, is kept.