Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees
Tuesday, 28 November 2023
Select Committee on Education and Skills
Vote 45 - Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Supplementary)
Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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I have a number of other questions in relation to pensions, but maybe I will leave that and perhaps we can get a note on that.
The €1,000 reduction in fees might be a good place to start. People will obviously welcome a €1,000 reduction. We can all agree on that and it is fine. I think that most people, not just students and their families, would have anticipated that the reduction would be a permanent one, given that this was what was being reported in the media on the morning of the budget. Usually, media sources on the morning of the budget are fairly accurate.
Will the Minister of State advise us why it was decided to forgo a permanent reduction in those fees in favour of a once-off one?