Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 22 January 2025
1704. Deputy Niamh Smyth asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to review the case of a child (details supplied); if he will confirm her entitlements; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46692/24]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware that Budget 2025 contains a package of measures to support households with the cost of education. These measures include a €1,000 reduction in the student contribution fee for higher education students that are eligible for the Free Fees Initiative (FFI). To avail of this measure, students must be eligible for free fees and be attending a free fees approved course.
The institution under reference is not funded by my Department however, it does receive some funding from the Department of Education in respect of certain free fees eligible courses.
Independent institutions operating in the private sector, like the one to which the Deputy refers, can establish courses which operate outside of the Free Fees Initiative. Where such a course is established, the tuition fee payable is entirely a matter for the college as an autonomous institution. The Budget 2025 measure to reduce the student contribution by €1,000 does not apply to such courses. However, it is open to the institution in question, as a private autonomous institute, to apply a similar fee reduction, if it so chooses.
I am conscious that not all students are eligible for free fees. Therefore, as part of the cost-of-living measures announced in Budget 2025, I secured additional funding of €10 million for the Student Assistance Fund for the current academic year. Students experiencing exceptional financial difficulty can apply for support under the Student Assistance Fund, including students attending the institution to which the Deputy refers. This Fund assists students in a sensitive and compassionate manner, who might otherwise be unable to continue their third level studies due to their financial circumstances.
