Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Chair and Deputies for the opportunity to speak to them this morning and for the committee’s consideration of the 2023 Supplementary Estimate for the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. I am accompanied by officials from my Department. They are Paul Lemass, assistant secretary; Valerie Considine, principal officer; and John Wilson, accountant. As part of budget 2024, the Government outlined that Supplementary Estimates would be required to provide for a number of measures, including a cost-of-living package of €2.1 billion; costs of humanitarian supports for Ukrainian refugees of €1.3 billion; Covid-19 related spending pressures; and the Christmas bonus payments for eligible social welfare recipients.

I will provide the committee with an overview of the Supplementary Estimate. The allocation was drawn as part of the normal budgetary process. At a Cabinet meeting on 21 November 2023, the Government agreed to a substantive Supplementary Estimate, which increased the net voted allocation to €3,211,397. This allowed for funding a number of measures. First, €115 million is for measures that will provide immediate and tangible relief for apprentices, undergraduates and postgraduate students to address the challenges of the cost of living. Those measures include a once-off €1,000 reduction in the undergraduate student contribution fee for higher education students eligible for the free fees initiative, which is estimated to benefit approximately 94,000 undergraduate students. Second, there is a once-off reduction of 33% in the contribution fee for apprentices in higher education. Third, there is an increase in the postgraduate contribution grant from €4,000 to €5,000, benefiting approximately 1,790 students eligible for SUSI. Fourth, there is a further €8.1 million investment in the student assistance fund for the 2023-24 academic year, bringing the total of that fund to in excess of €17 million.

These are significant, impactful changes that will help to address the cost-of-living issues facing students. Second, €8.9 million in funding will provide supports to Ukrainian students in Ireland. We are all well aware of the profound impact of the war in Ukraine. The funding builds upon the supports the Government put in place in the 2022-23 academic year for Ukrainian persons eligible under section 60 of the International Protection Act 2015. These supports include tuition fees and payment of a monthly stipend for students in higher education, a temporary bursary scheme for those in further education, and access to the student assistance fund and mental health supports. English language provision remains a priority and funding was agreed in budget 2024 negotiations for the continued delivery by the 16 education and training boards, ETBs, of the English speakers of other languages programme for Ukrainians wishing to develop their language competency as part of their social, economic and cultural integration into Irish society.

Finally, as part of the Supplementary Estimate, other technical adjustments, amounting to a total of €500,000, are required to facilitate university pay and pension costs, impacts of Department of Social Protection budget 2024 announcements on the further education sector and offset of 2023 expenditure pressures by savings expected on the Vote. Appropriations-in-aid received greater than forecast brought the total net supplementary ask to €107 million. I trust that this overview is of assistance to the committee. We are happy to discuss these issues in more detail. I commend the Supplementary Estimate to the committee.