Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 October 2023
74. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the rationale for the one-off cost-of-living measures in budget 2024 associated with his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45691/23]
View answerStudents were expecting and hoping to see a permanent reduction in the student contribution charge in the budget last week, rather than a once-off measure. Students I have spoken to in the past week are really disappointed about it. Will the Minister explain why there was temporary reduction in the charge rather than a permanent one, with a view to abolishing it?
The Deputy and I must talk to different students, which is entirely possible. I have met many students and parents who really welcome that rather than having to wait until next September for a fee reduction that might happen, we have taken the opportunity in the cost-of-living package to ensure tens of thousands of students will get €1,000 back before Christmas and tens of thousands of people will get an increase in their postgraduate fee contribution. In addition, the PhD stipend will rise for many from January.
I fully accept that we have more to do. However, I certainly was not going to look a gift horse in the mouth when money was available right now by way of cost-of-living measures. I put that money to good use for students and families. I have made it a priority to reduce the cost of third level education. Cost should not be a barrier to education, as the Deputy and I agree. It should never be a barrier to people reaching their full potential, pursuing their goal and getting to where they want to be in life. Over several budgets, we have made a number of significant policy changes to reduce the cost of education for families. Since my appointment as Minister, student grants have increased by between 28% and 101%, depending on the grant received.
Budget 2024 aims to remove more barriers and make further and higher education more accessible. The measures in the cost-of-living package for my Department, which total €115 million, will support young people and their families. For the second year in a row, we have reduced the contribution fee by €1,000 for 94,000 eligible undergraduates. This reduction will apply automatically. If students' household income is less than €100,000, they are eligible for a further €500 reduction in fees, meaning the college fee will be halved to €1,500. This will automatically put money back in people's pockets. Apprentice fees for 11,000 apprentices will be reduced by one third. There will be an increase of €1,000 in the postgraduate tuition fee contribution grant for student recipients, to be paid by Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI. From January, for the first time since the financial crash, the postgraduate maintenance grant is coming back. We have topped up the student assistance fund. We are making permanent increases to the student grant, which will apply from January. As I said, we have more to do. I share the Deputy's aim to reduce the registration fee over time but I wanted to make real progress in this budget.
The Minister mentioned the financial crash. In 2008, when the registration fee was first increased by a significant amount - by 67%, as I recall - I had just started college. Students came together to protest outside Leinster House, in Galway and all over the country. They knew that fee was simply the start of what was to come and, indeed, it has increased massively since then. It certainly is true that people will be pleased to see some money going back into their pockets by way of the reduction in the charge. The problem is that we need a view of the long term. People want to know the reduction of €1,000 will be permanent, with a view to the charge bring abolished. We talk about free fees. We see the benefits of free secondary school education, how transformative it was for so many people and how fantastic it has been for society. That is the kind of vision we need for third level education.
I am sure the Deputy will agree that we must start with those most in need. Ministers have to work with the resources that are available and it is right to target them at those most in need. From next September, any student with a household income below €56,000 will pay a grand total of zero in undergraduate fees. I often see that among secondary school students, many of them think their parents will have to pay €3,000 in college fees, which they may not have. This is not true. Anybody in this country with a household income below €56,000 pays zero fees. That needs to be said. Any family with a household income below €100,000 has had student fees halved if the student is doing a full-time undergraduate degree. Anybody with an income above €100,000 is getting €1,000 off college fees.
I did not think it right that people would have to wait until next September for a reduction, as per the budget proposal by the Deputy's party. I want to make real progress and permanent reductions. The fact we have reduced fees not once but twice is a clear indication of the policy direction in which both the Deputy and I want to go, which is about reducing the cost of education for families.
One thing we definitely can agree on is the need to make education as accessible as possible. We know many people do not realise what is available to them and we must ensure they are made aware. This is really about the type of vision the Minister has for third level education. I think he probably does have such a vision. It was a disappointment that the reduction in the charge is not a permanent measure, with a view to abolishing the charge. Sometimes, these decisions are made by the Ministers for Finance and for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform. People knew this issue would continue to put pressure on families. There is concern about whether they will be able to afford third level education. It is not just the student contribution charge; it is also the impact of the accommodation crisis and the difficulty of finding somewhere to live. The issue is a lot broader than the student charge. It is about what kind of vision we have for third level education, which should be that it is free.
My vision on this is really clear. I believe education is a public good and that people should have a right to access it regardless of their means. Free education in Ireland now starts at age two, with free preschool education, and goes right the way through. That should continue on through to an undergraduate degree. Some people will go to college full time, some part time and others will do a third level course online. People will not necessarily want to go straight from school to college. There needs to be flexibility. The idea of education as a public good that can be accessible regardless of means is really important. The student grant is increasing significantly from January. That is a direct recognition of the need to support people, including those most in need. I chose to increase the money from January rather than telling people they must wait until next September. We are bringing in postgraduate maintenance grants for the first time in more than a decade.
The Deputy is right that the cost of student accommodation is a huge burden on people. That is why I worked with the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, to ensure there was provision in the budget for the rent tax credit to be applicable to parents who are paying their child's rent. They can get that credit backdated for the past year. Parents with a child in digs in the third year of college can claim back €1,750. That will really help people.
