Under the free fees initiative, the State meets the tuition fees of eligible students who are attending full-time undergraduate courses, which must generally be of at least two years duration, at approved colleges. The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, RCSI, is not an approved college for the purpose of this initiative.
However, the RCSI is an approved college for the purposes of the higher education grants scheme. Under the terms of the scheme, the State meets the cost of tuition fees, for eligible students, up to a maximum fee limit, which for the 1998-9 academic year has been set at £2,702. It is not possible, in individual cases, to provide any further assistance towards the cost of tuition fees over and above the maximum fee limit.