The student charge is levied by third level institutions to defray the costs of examinations, registration and students services. As part of the 2004 Estimates for my Department a decision was made to increase the student charge from €670 to €750 for the 2004-05 academic year. All students who are eligible for means tested student support have the student charge paid on their behalf by the local authorities or the vocational education committees, in addition to their other entitlements.
No decision was taken in the 2005 Estimates to increase the charge for the 2005-06 academic year and I have no plans at this stage for such an increase.