Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 23 February 2017
190. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if an Irish citizen, enrolled on a course of study in an Irish university, should be subject to the same fees in an institution in another EU member state when undertaking a year of study at that institution with the support of the Irish university with which he or she is enrolled. [9257/17]
Amharc ar fhreagra191. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will review a matter in which a person (details supplied) is studying in another EU member state and is subject to visiting students' fees that are higher than those levied on students of that member state and do not take into account this person's status as an EU citizen. [9258/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI propose to take Questions Nos. 190 and 191 together.
The position is that under my Department's free fees schemes, the Exchequer provides funding towards tuition fee costs in respect of eligible students who are pursuing full-time undergraduate courses of study. The main conditions of the scheme are that students must be first-time undergraduates, hold inter alia EU/EEA/Swiss nationality in their own right, and have been ordinarily resident in an EU/EEA/Swiss state for at least three of the five years preceding their entry to an approved third level course. Funding under the schemes is only available in respect of approved courses in this State.
Under EU legislation, students from this State wishing to study in another EU State are entitled to avail of whatever supports are available in the EU State in which they wish to study. However, the level of fee payable by a student attending a higher education institution in the UK is a matter for that particular institution to determine and my Department has no role in relation to such matters.
