Quinn: I am sorry for student grants fiasco but now is not time for inquiry

Education Minister Ruairi Quinn has taken full responsibility for the student grant fiasco but says there cannot be a postmortem as the system needs to concentrate on solving the problem.

Speaking in the Dáil last night, he said the focus had to be on trying to process 33,000 applications by Christmas and confirm for those students that they would get grants.

He told third-level institutions students should not be penalised because their grants had been delayed.