Two Tipperary Students have met with four senior government ministers to discuss issues of educational disadvantage. The meetings with Minister Simon Harris, Norma Foley, Heather Humphreys and Michael McGrath were facilitated by Tipperary TD Michael Lowry.
Lisa O’Connor attends the Ursuline in Thurles and Louis Ryan is a student at Rockwell College.
The student’s proposals involve measures to ease access to training for all professions including Medicine and Law. The students highlighted the inequalities of the Health Professions Admission Test also known as the HPAT- the students feel that the €152.80 exam fee is a barrier for some students in addition to preparation courses ranging from €149 to €1500 – the students also question the value of the test. The test is an entry requirement for entry to medicine at five Irish Universities and for entry to Occupational Therapy and Speech Language Therapy at University Limerick.
The students say further consideration needs to be given to School Outreach Workshops, Mentoring Programmes and, most importantly, fostering links with disadvantaged schools and aspiring young students – the nation’s future doctors.
