Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 October 2023
85. Deputy Alan Dillon asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if the SUSI grant will be amended to cover part-time students; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45527/23]
View answerI acknowledge the efforts of the Minister, Deputy Harris, and the Minister of State, Deputy Niall Collins, in delivering for further and higher education in the budget. I have received several questions on the availability of supports for part-time students who cannot access SUSI grants. It is crucial to address this to ensure inclusivity, accessibility and equal educational chances for all. Many individuals are unable to pursue full-time education due to various factors. What can the Government do in this regard?
I thank the Deputy for raising this important question. I have been consistent in my position that we need to develop an education system that is more flexible and agile than the one we inherited. We need to recognise that learners come to education at different stages of their life and career and need access in a way that works for them. For many that will be part-time learning, some in person and some online. Increasingly we will have students in work as opposed to people straight out of school.
One of the overriding priorities in the budget has been reducing child poverty. Of course, child poverty can be reduced in a number of ways and income support is probably the quickest short-term way. However, to really break intergenerational poverty, access to education has the greatest power to transform lives, lift people out of poverty and break down the cycles of intergenerational poverty.
The fees associated with part-time programmes can be a real barrier to higher education access and I wanted to expand supports to part-time students in the budget. Therefore, I was very pleased to announce, as part of the tertiary education package from September 2024, a part-time fee grant scheme to provide support for eligible students who are undertaking undergraduate part-time programmes leading to a major award, whether in-person, blended or online. This scheme will mean fees for these courses will be abolished for eligible students whose household earnings are less than €55,924. The support and added flexibility will benefit many but particularly low-income families. The scheme will be administered through SUSI. The fees represent too big a barrier for too many people. The scheme will be developed in detail by my Department in the weeks ahead. The Department will engage in further discussions with key stakeholders and will outline the full details of the new scheme and how to apply early next year.
The Atlantic Technological University in the Deputy's constituency has been a leader in part-time education for many years. It has offered part-time courses to students. The scheme will mean that more students, including more students from diverse backgrounds, can access those part-time courses from September.
It is very positive to hear of this additional part-time fee-support scheme, which will be an enormous boost for those who wish to enter part-time education while juggling work and family commitments. These additional grants will help with the expenses of textbooks, course supplies and other academic resources which play a crucial role. It is important that the Minister is backing part-time education. Many of the universities, technical universities and colleges are establishing part-time courses to meet the needs of the local enterprise plans and industries in their regions. Supporting part-time students will allow them to blend their academic commitments with their family obligations, etc. This will be versatile education and address the requirements in further and higher education.
I thank the Deputy for his support for the scheme. This scheme will help people who can now access degree programmes outside the CAO process. I was recently in the Atlantic Technological University in the Deputy's part of the country. I met nursing students doing the new tertiary nursing degree. These students had been assessed for eligibility for the programme not based on their leaving certificate points but based on an interview and other assessments of their aptitude. That means students who might have had to go to the UK to study are doing nursing courses in the north west. We have enough challenges with staffing our own health service without staffing the British NHS. That is a really important development. More part-time and online education will remove the barriers for more people.
With the technological universities taking education into the regions, the degree courses available outside the dreaded points race and removing fees for anybody doing part-time or online education, starting with those most in need, those with a household income of just below €56,000, it gives us a real platform on which to build. We will build on it in the years ahead by continuing to reduce fees and increase grants. In the years ahead we will consider how we can incorporate maintenance grants as part of the free fees initiative for part-time courses.
In his opening response, the Minister spoke about broadening the access to education for families who may be impacted by poverty, etc. This is a very worthwhile scheme. Broadening the support to part-time learners underscores the importance of continuous education. It is crucial that we continue to nurture our flexible workforce which is vital for our economic advancement and also for innovation and how we support our talent and knowledge economy.
Are the grants capped at a certain level? Is the ceiling of €56,000 for a household or for an individual?
The full eligibility for the scheme will be worked out and published early in the new year. The €56,000 limit is for a household. It is linked to the income ceiling to qualify for the SUSI contribution. We are trying to align part-time and full-time education. Clearly that number could move up in future budgets if that is the wish of Government and the Oireachtas. When the Taoiseach asked us to focus on child well-being and child poverty, it made sense to start at lower income levels, where we are most likely to capture those most in need. I gave consideration to trying to define certain groupings, such as parents, carers and people with disabilities, but then we would need to justify having one group and not another group. We are trying to ensure everyone can access education and that cost is not a barrier to anyone. I thought that the income threshold was an important place to start. There will be rules for the scheme. It will have to lead to a major award at level 6, 7 or 8. It will need to be done part time and can be online, blended or in person. There will be a set number of years in which to do it. The fee per module that would have been paid by the student will be met by the State.
