Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 December 2020
37. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if the €250 payment will be extended to include all students in full-time third level education; the way in which students in final year who have already paid their fees can avail of the support; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43160/20]
View answerMy question relates to the €250 payment to students, for which €50 million in funding was announced in the budget. Can the Minister clarify why €43.5 million, rather than €50 million, was provided in the Supplementary Estimate? Will he comment on the number of students excluded from the payment, including part-time students, students on full-time post-leaving certificate courses, PLCs, and students who choose to study abroad or in the North?
I thank the Deputy for her question. In recognition of the challenges facing full-time third level students, the Government has approved once-off funding of €50 million to provide additional financial assistance in this academic year. The funding was provided in budget 2021 in recognition of the exceptional situation students have experienced due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Financial assistance will be provided to all EU full-time undergraduate and postgraduate students attending publicly funded higher education institutions.
The scheme will ensure students who avail of the Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, grant, including students abroad, will receive a €250 top-up of their grant. That payment is due this Friday to students whose bank details are known to SUSI. Students who do not avail of the grant but attend publicly funded higher education institutions in the State can reduce by €250 any outstanding student contribution fee payments or receive a €250 credit note for their institution. As I understand it, the nub of the Deputy's question concerns the students who do not fit into either of those categories. For example, for final-year students who have paid all their fees, a credit note for next year is of no use. In a small number of cases, alternative arrangements will be made for the payment of the moneys to students at the discretion of institutions. This means that for students who do not get a SUSI grant and for whom a credit note is not useful, it will be possible for the institutions to decide to provide a cash payment. The preference from an accounting point of view is very much the SUSI top-up, followed by a credit note or rebate off the student's outstanding fees. However, in other scenarios, where a credit note is not of use, there will be a discretion and flexibility given to the higher education institutions.
These measures are designed to ensure that students who are not in receipt of SUSI support will benefit from the measure. It is also the intention that they will address circumstances where students are in final year, have paid their contribution fee and may not be on campus. I expect institutions to start communicating directly with their students in the coming days as to how they can avail of this provision. It will be up to each institution to operate the scheme within its institution.
I welcome the Minister's response and the fact that students studying abroad and in the North will get this support, albeit, as I know the Minister understands, it is very little in terms of the high fees they have to pay. For students in their final year, is there a cut-off date by which the institutions have been asked to pay this money? How many students will be paid before Christmas? Part-time students should be considered for inclusion because they have many expenses which can prohibit them from education. It is important to get this money paid out.
Will the Minister explain why €43.5 million was allocated in the Supplementary Estimate rather than the €50 million indicated in the budget?
On the financial question, I will get the Deputy a note on that. A €50 million scheme was approved by Government.
I have dealt with how SUSI students will receive their funding and I will not dwell on that. In regard to non-SUSI students, if we may call them that, higher education institutions will contact eligible students as soon as is practicable. I have made clear that I would like this contact to happen in advance of Christmas. Students do not need to contact their college or apply for the credit as it will automatically be applied by the institution. All higher education institutions have been asked to apply a credit note in the name of the registered student as soon as possible. In a small number of cases, as I said, where credit cannot be applied, a payment may be facilitated at the discretion of the institution. I expect individual institutions to communicate directly with their students on this in advance of Christmas. It may be the start of 2021 when some people receive the credit note or reimbursement, but the SUSI payments will go out on Friday.
I thank the Minister. Do the institutions already have this money? Is it being front-loaded?
Cross-Border enrolment on this island is still far too low. In the past ten years there has been a decline of almost 40% in the number of students from this State studying in the North. Students from the North of Ireland make up less than 1% of enrolment in this State. We need to work collectively to reverse those trends, and we should start by not punishing students and giving the same leeway to those studying in the North. We need an all-island approach to education. We can offer better options to students by working together as an island. I ask the Minister to work with us to make sure of this.
We must also make sure that students in the North can avail of the Horizon 2020 programme after 1 January. Perhaps the Minister could comment on that.
I share the Deputy's passion for making sure that everybody on the island of Ireland has access to higher education and that we co-operate and collaborate. I really believe in this. I had a very good meeting with Universities Ireland, which represents all the universities on the island of Ireland. I have asked their representatives to come up with a list of areas where they believe we can collaborate. I would love to see a situation where students from the North could do a module or two in the Republic and vice versa. That is a really good way to build peace and relationships and to get to know other communities.
In the context of Brexit, the Deputy will be aware that I have committed to ensuring that students in Northern Ireland can continue to access the Erasmus+ programme. It is really important to be outward-looking and to engage with other countries and their education systems. I have Government approval for a scheme whereby any student in Northern Ireland can do this. Such students would need to register temporarily in an Irish institution. This is a very important commitment for the Irish Government and I am very pleased that we are delivering on it.
