Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 8 September 2022
1291. Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the estimated full-year cost of abolishing postgraduate third-level registration and tuition fees, including the associated reduction in the student support grant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42160/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraApplications to undertake study at postgraduate level are made directly to individual higher education institutions.
Higher education institutions are autonomous institutions as provided for in legislation and on that basis the management of academic affairs including:
- the criteria governing the level of tuition fees to be charged in the case of postgraduate study are solely a matter for the relevant institution to determine in line with its own criteria. In this regard the fee payable by a student will vary by institution and differ depending on a variety factors including the type of course and the student's access route including previous education.
- some students may already have some or all of their fees covered e.g. under research awards or other bodies.
- the curriculum; instruction; education and number of students enrolled on postgraduate courses as provided by the institutions are generally matters for the relevant HEI.
Data required to estimate the potential costs to the state for the introduction of a scheme to provide tuition fees for all postgraduate students is not readily available.
The main support available to postgraduate students is the statutory based Student Grant Scheme. The decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter, in the first instance, for the centralised student grant awarding authority SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland) to determine.
Budget 2021, provided enhanced postgraduate supports from the 2021/22 academic year including the fee contribution grant amount rising from €2,000 to €3,500. In March I signed regulations to increase student grants for the new academic year (2022/23). The changes, introduced in Budget 2022 will see maintenance grants increase by €200, the income threshold for the standard rate of grant increase by €1,000 and the distance for the higher non-adjacent student grant will be reduced from 45km to 30km.
As I look towards the next budgetary cycle, I will be examining all the levers I have to address the cost of education in a way that has impact for students and families and that applies broadly and fairly across society. On 5th of September, in advance of the Budget, I published, for the first time, a costs of education paper which will set out the possible policy options, and their indicative costs, to aid public discussion on how we should prioritise any interventions to address costs of education. The paper “Funding the Future, an annual options paper on reducing the cost of higher education can be found here: www.gov.ie/en/publication/28c9d-funding-the-future-an-annual-options-paper-on-reducing-the-cost-of-higher-education/.
