Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 7 July 2022
3. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the steps he is taking that will come into effect this upcoming academic year to support student and families with the rising cost of living; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36673/22]
View answerThis question is also about the cost of living and inflation in particular. This morning, the Central Bank said that inflation will peak in double digits. I am of the view that it will even go further than that. I welcome all the measures from last year that the Minister announced but we are not keeping up with where we need to be because all of that is eaten up by inflation. The Minister mentioned the fiscal space being available. What additional measures will be put in place from September?
The Deputy makes a fair point. We introduced a number of measures that she has acknowledged and welcomed. She also made the not unfair point that when a measure is introduced in the budget, a student or indeed anybody has to wait many months or until the next academic year to feel its impact. I am encouraged by the fact that with the publication of the summer economic statement this week and the comments of the Ministers for Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform, there is a clear acknowledgement that measures we bring in must have an immediate effect. I am working on that basis to see what we can do for the education sector in 2023 as well as what we can do immediately to help students, families and parents with the cost-of-living crisis.
Addressing the cost of education for students and families is a major priority for me. As part of the last budget, I prioritised a number of changes to the SUSI grant scheme, which will benefit learners from September. People often ask what will happen between now and the budget. In our sector, we will see improvements and changes. From September, all student maintenance grants will increase across the board. Every grant will increase by €200, but that does not tell the full story. Due to the changes we have made to adjacency rules, a number of students will see their grants increase by well over 20%. Some will increase by more than 30%. We have increased the income thresholds, an area I want to go further in, by €1,000 so that more people will apply and qualify for SUSI. We are providing the funding through the student assistance fund, as I mentioned in my discussion with Deputy Boyd Barrett.
I think the Deputy will agree that we need to take an evidence-based approach in terms of what is the most appropriate thing to do. In that regard, the SUSI student grant scheme review is a welcome piece of work. It is not my piece of work. Published on 4 May, it involved experts, students, and stakeholders through a massive public consultation process, and outlines what we need to do next in clear, stark terms. I will draw on that in terms of the strong evidence base for policy interventions. As stated previously, we will publish a cost of education paper in September that will set out, for the Deputy, for other Members of the House and for everybody else, the various options we can consider in advance of the budget. I hope that will lead to an informed discussion.
I would have liked to see that the cost of education paper produced earlier so that we would be ready for September. I welcome the fact that the budget is being brought forward. I am still concerned with the mounting costs and about students who are planning to go to college this year. People are really worried.
We have to remember that the increases that were made last year and that are coming into effect this year were the first in ten years. Sometimes I think that what annoys people is that announcements are made but that one has to look under the bonnet to see the impact they will have. Can the Minister imagine ten years without any increase and all the extra costs that are there? The SUSI review showed there was a need for a 25% increase just to keep up with the rising cost of living, which has been chipping away at the real value of supports for years. That has left many low- and middle-income families very exposed to inflation this year.
The Deputy and I are in ultimate agreement on the need to do more in this regard. She says she would like to see the cost of education paper earlier. It is the first time there has ever been one. It is a new policy development. There will not, however, be a great mystery to it. The SUSI student review published in May is very instructive. The second thing I think will be very instructive relates to how, if we wish to do so, we can consider reducing the student registration fee and the costs associated with each course. I have been clear on the range of costs students face, and Deputies Conway-Walsh and Boyd Barrett have raised a valid issue. Deputy Conway-Walsh referred to public transport, and one could refer to accommodation and HAP. The two levers directly within my Department's remit are SUSI and the student registration fee, so they are the two on which I will focus most directly while advocating for students and their families across the Government between now and the budgetary process.
The extra increase of €1,000 in the threshold has not been across all rates. Many parents ask me why the rate they are getting is not being increased. The Minister mentioned the measure of allowing students to earn €2,000 more during their holidays. The figure has increased from €4,500 to €6,552. That is absolutely a positive change, but it seems that it will come into effect only next year. Families think, "Great - this will really help me", and then they find they have to wait a year. I ask the Minister to think of a case in which a student has taken on more work this summer to cope with the cost of living. He or she wants to apply based on 2022 income because there has been a change of circumstances in the household. Such students, however, will be penalised for working more this year, the year during which they are absolutely struggling to get by. This form will do exactly what it was intended not to do. It will exclude people instead of including them. Will the Minister look at this as a matter of urgency to see if the measure can be brought forward to apply to this summer rather than next?
I welcome the opportunity to provide some clarity on this matter. In fairness, and as the Deputy will know, applicants are assessed on last year's income, so the measure is very much a benefit for this summer. Students applying to SUSI for September will be assessed on what they earned in summer 2021. What we tried to do this year was ensure that a student working in a bar, a hotel, a shop or a restaurant would be able to earn a little more than €2,000 more this year. Applicants are not assessed on that income until the following year, however, so it is absolutely a measure for this summer. Applicants are always analysed based on their income going back 12 months. I do not think that making the change Deputy Conway-Walsh suggests would have helped students because they are being assessed this year on what they earned last summer. I am telling them they can go ahead, work hard and earn more money. Work should always pay, and we will not penalise them when they then reapply to SUSI next year. That is how the system is working. I am happy, if the Deputy wishes to write to me, to engage further with her on the matter.
I understand the logic of what the Minister is doing, but in the here and now it does not benefit people.
