Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 May 2022
617. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if his Department proposed the outline of the alternative hybrid option included in the report; if he will outline the parameters set for the model by his Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23350/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraOn the 4th of May I launched Funding the Future – a landmark policy on the future of higher education. Funding the Future, which was approved for publication by Government, settles the question on funding Higher Education. The Government has decided that income contingent loans for fees will not form part of the future funding model. Instead, the Government is committing to a multi-funded model of additional Exchequer investment and employer contributions through the National Training Fund and student contribution. It is also my intention that in response to the cost of education and living, a reduced reliance on student contributions will be a feature of future reforms.
Funding the Future was created as part of a Department of Further and Higher Education, Research and Innovation response to the commissioned independent report Increasing the Sustainability of Higher and Further Education in Ireland and the separate independent review of the Student Grant Scheme, conducted in response to a Programme for Government commitment to review SUSI eligibility criteria, adjacency rates and postgraduate grant supports.
The policy sets out the vision and direction of higher education funding, our commitment to addressing legacy issues in higher education and detailing our ambitious plans for investment and reform.
The Report of the Expert Group on Future Funding for Higher Education (2016) identified three funding options for a more sustainable future funding model and highlighted the implications (both costs and benefits) for (i) the State, (ii) students; (iii) employers, and (iv) Higher Education institutions. These options were:
A predominantly state-funded system
Increased state funding with continuing student fees
Increased state-funding with deferred payment of fees through income contingent loans.
As the Deputy will appreciate Higher education studies entail substantial investment and decisions must be made in the context of overall government expenditure. The 3 options considered in the economic assessment envisaged significant costs for the state and presented significant challenges in terms of future sustainability in relation to competing demands for public money.
In this regard and in consideration of a range of suitable options to recognise the financial pressures being experienced by students the consultants examined a hybrid option in consultation with my department and the EU Commission's DG reform Unit to model how a hybrid model derived from option 2 that incorporated more modest increases in maintenance support and an income contingent maintenance fund to support a more informed consideration of future funding options.
The supplementary ‘hybrid’ option, as presented in the published report “Increasing the Sustainability of Higher and Further Education in Ireland”, presents the same sectoral funding need as option 2, which has been confirmed by Government as the preferred option, with a mix of exchequer and NTF funding with continued student contributions.
In terms of student supports it considered smaller economic increase in maintenance rates, when compared to the other options and the addition of an income contingent maintenance loan to support students with the cost of education. As the deputy is aware Government did not approve income contingent loans as a suitable and sustainable option for higher education in Ireland.
The Funding the Future policy is available at the following location: www.gov.ie/en/policy-information/49e56-future-funding-in-higher-education/.
