Vol. 488 No. 7
421 Ms M. McGennis asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the impact of the British Government's implementation of student tuition fees on enrolments of Irish students in British institutions of further and higher education. [7255/98]
422 Ms M. McGennis asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will make a statement on the proposals, if any, he has to harmonise student financial supports and recognition of academic qualifications between Ireland and Britain. [7256/98]
I propose to answer Questions No. 421 and 422 together.
I raised the possible effects of the proposed changes to tuition fee arrangements with Mr. David Blunkett, the Secretary of State for Education and Employment, at a meeting in London in December 1997. The Secretary of State assured me that it was not the UK Government's intention to deter Irish students from coming to the UK and the new fee arrangements were designed to allow students to contribute fairly to the costs of their higher education. As the Deputy is aware, the proposals involve the introduction of an annual tuition fee of up to £1,000 depending on parental income, the continuation of fee tuition for students from lower income families and the replacement of maintenance grants with student loans.
I understand that all EU students will be eligible for grant assistance towards this tuition fee from the UK authorities, subject to the same conditions as will be applied to UK students. In this regard, it is likely that those students with reckonable incomes below £23,000 will be fully grant aided by the appropriate local education authority and will not have to pay any contribution towards the fee. Students with reckonable incomes of between £23,000 and £35,000 will be partially grant aided and will, accordingly, only be liable for a portion of the full fee. Students whose reckonable income exceeds £35,000 are unlikely to be grant aided and will be liable to pay the full £1,000 tuition fee.
Full details of the arrangements, including the administrative arrangements, are expected to be available by April. Officials of my Department are engaged in ongoing discussions with their counterparts from the Department of Education, Northern Ireland, in relation to the practicalities involved. My officials are also considering the impact of the new arrangements on student flows between the various jurisdictions. However, at this stage, it is too early to assess the impact of the arrangements.
