Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 October 2023
129. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to outline the supports that have been made available for third level students, those attending further and higher education and apprentices in Budget 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45739/23]
View answerIn Budget 2024, I am once again providing a significant package of measures to support students. Cost should never be a barrier when it comes to education. It should never be a barrier to someone reaching their full potential or pursuing their goals and getting to where they want to in life.
For the second year in a row, I have reduced the student contribution fee by €1,000 for free fees eligible students. This reduction will be applied automatically. If your household income is less than €100,000, you are eligible for a further €500 reduction in fees meaning the fee for college will be €1,500.
There will be a €1,000 increase to the postgraduate tuition fee contribution grant for student grant recipients to be paid by SUSI on behalf of the students.
€31 million has been provided to enhance the existing student support scheme which is administered by SUSI. These measures will see;
- increases to all non-adjacent maintenance rates by €615 and all adjacent maintenance rates by 10%. This is a significant increase particularly for those who live further away from college and will help those who need it most.
- maintenance to postgraduates restored on a similar basis to undergraduates building on the positive changes to the Postgraduate Fee Contribution in the last two budgets and a really important step in helping students continue their educational journey. Postgraduate students who already get a maintenance grant at the special rate will also benefit from the maintenance grant increases from January.
- Increases to student grant income thresholds with Band 4 maintenance grant threshold going from €46,790 to €50,840 so that more students will be eligible for a maintenance grant. This will be a benefit of €612 for adjacent students and €1,666 for non-adjacent students.
- Increases to the 100% Student Contribution threshold by 10% to €55,924. This means eligible families under this income will no longer have to pay a student contribution fee from September 2024.
For the first time ever, the student grant scheme will be extended to part-time students. I believe that this has the potential to be seismic in the context of opening up opportunities for people and is a major step in the reform of the education system.
A further €8.1 million has been invested in the Student Assistance Fund for the 2023/24 academic year. This brings the total allocation to over €17 million. The Student Assistance Fund provides financial support to full or part-time students who are experiencing financial difficulties while attending college. Additionally, Budget 2024 provides €0.5m for free period products in further and higher education institutions under the period poverty initiative.
In Further Education & Training, I have again recognised the vital role Apprentices play in our society and in our communities and therefore I’m delighted to also announce a once-off reduction of 33% in the contribution fee for the 11,000 apprentices in higher education.
I am also providing additional funding for bursaries to increase access to apprenticeships for under-represented groups. Budget 2024 has allocated €3m to abolish PLC fees with effect from September 2024. This builds on our decision to abolish the €200 Levy in 2022. This additional funding will ensure all 24,000 learners across the country do not face charges fee, when pursuing a PLC course from September next.
We are providing an additional €2m to expand the Fund for Students with Disabilities (FSD) to help students with disabilities access further education and training. This allocation will allow the progressive roll-out of the FSD across all FET programmes. This allocation will be complemented by the current roll out of universal design learning principles and practice across FET.
I secured funding to increase in the PhD stipend for researchers who are under the remit of agencies of my Department - Science Foundation Ireland and the Irish Research Council. This is the third increase that this Department has introduced for PhD researchers and it goes a significant way to addressing the challenges they face. Ireland wants to be an Innovation Island and an Island of Talent. To do that, we must support our researchers. This increase will bring the stipend to €22,000 a year and will be effective from January.
This is a significant package of measures making a significant difference to students and their families in further and higher education.
