Under the terms of the free fees initiative my Department meets the tuition fees of eligible students. The main conditions are that students must be first-time undergraduates; and hold EU nationality or official refugee status and have been ordinarily resident in an EU member state for at least three of the five years preceding their entry to an approved third level course. I would point out that this residency requirement applies to all EU nationals, including Irish nationals, in accordance with the judgment of the European Court of Justice that access to vocational training must apply equally to all EU nationals.
I would emphasise the distinction between the criteria that determines eligibility under the free fees initiative and the criteria by which individual third level institutions establish the rates of tuition fees that should be charged in cases where a student does not qualify for free fees. The universities are autonomous bodies and, as such, may determine the level of fees to be charged in cases where the free fees initiative does not apply. The classification of a student as an EU or a non EU applicant is a matter for each institution to determine in this regard.
Under section 7 of the Equal Status Act 2000, educational establishments may not discriminate as regards the terms and conditions of admission on the basis that an applicant is of a different race, colour, nationality or ethnic or national origin. However, educational establishments may exercise differential treatment as between EU and non EU nationals in relation to fees for admission and the allocation of places.
