Vol. 482 No. 8
264 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Education and Science whether he has assessed the impact of the British decision on university fees to increase the number of applications from Northern Irish students for places in college funded by his Department; and the action, if any, he will take to cope with this extra demand without encroaching on opportunities for access to college for students from the South. [19300/97]
270 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Education and Science the assessment, if any, he has made in relation to the impact of the British decision on university fees increasing the number of applications from Northern Irish students for places in colleges funded by his Department; and the action, if any, he plans to take to cope with this extra demand without restricting opportunities for access to college for students from the South. [19395/97]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 264 and 270 together.
The report of Sir Ron Dearing on the Future of Higher Education in the UK was published in July 1997. Arising from this report, Mr. David Blunkett, the UK Secretary of State for Education and Employment announced that he planned to introduce an annual tuition fee of up to £1,000 depending on parental income, that tuition would continue to be free for students from lower income families and that maintenance grants would be replaced by student loans. He further advised that a White Paper, which has yet to be published, will detail the new arrangements.
At this stage, it is not possible, in advance of the publication of the White Paper, to fully assess the implications of the Dearing recommendations on the number of places in the higher education system or on students from the Republic who are attending college in Britain. My officials have had preliminary discussions with their counterparts in the Department of Education in Northern Ireland and I have been in contact with the Secretary of State on this matter. We are in the process of arranging a meeting to discuss it in conjunction with other matters.
