asked the Minister for Education if her attention has been drawn to the enormous financial pressures on students in third level education; and if she proposes to increase the level of grants available.

I am very conscious of the financial difficulties for some students in third level education and especially for students from lower income families. To assist them in pursuing courses of third level education there are a number of schemes operated by my Department under which grants and scholarships are made available. Despite enormous pressures on Exchequer resources, I am pleased to be in a position to inform the Deputy that the financial provisions of the higher education grants scheme and related student aid schemes will be improved in 1987 as follows: (i) the income eligibility limits for, and maintenance element of, grants and scholarships will be increased in line with inflation — 3 per cent — and (ii) the lecture fee element of grants will be increased for the academic year 1987-88 in line with the increases in fees — 6 per cent — for that academic year.