Vol. 480 No. 6
552 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Education the effect, if any, the new regulations in England will have on Irish students in Northern Ireland and in Britain in relation to the British Government getting rid of free education fees. [14265/97]
I assume the Deputy is referring to the report of Sir Ron Dearing on the Future of Higher Education in the UK which was published in July 1997. Arising from this report, Mr. David Blunkett, the UK Secretary of State for Education and Employment, announced that he planned to introduce an annual tuition fee of up to £ 1,000 depending on parental income, that tuition would continue to be free for students from lower income families and that maintenance grants would be replaced by student loans. He has further advised that a White Paper, detailing the new arrangements, will be published later this year.
It is important to realise that the details of the Secretary of State's proposals will only be finalised at that point.
I am keeping this situation under close review and will shortly be meeting the Secretary of State on this and a range of other issues.
