Student loans proposal will add to personal debt

Cassells’ report has cleared up the higher education funding landscape but many questions remain, says Brian Lucey.

Governments usually, and often quite correctly, come in for severe stick for lacking joined-up thinking.

In that regard, it is quite pleasant to see the initiative from the Department of Social Protection on money lenders. Linking repayment to credit union loans to welfare payments allows low-risk lending and therefore low interest rates.