Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is important to note that my Department allocates recurrent funding to the HEA for direct disbursement to HEA-designated higher education institutions. However, as autonomous bodies, the internal disbursement of this funding is a matter for the individual institution. As is clear from the actions already taken in the cost-of-living measures outlined in the budget, my Department is monitoring the issue of stipends and the views expressed by students and other stakeholders. With that in mind, as an immediate and tangible relief against the challenges of the rising cost of living, I am introducing a once-off payment in 2022 of €500 for PhD students who receive an Irish Research Council, IRC, or Science Foundation Ireland, SFI, award, and a €500 increase to the stipend baseline in 2023 for PhD students who receive either of those awards. PhD student recipients may also, in certain circumstances, qualify for support from SUSI.

I confirm that my Department will soon begin a review of PhD student support, and we plan to have a report commissioned and finished by early 2023. I intend to announce further details in the coming days, once finalised, and I would welcome the Deputy’s views in this regard. In my first budget as Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, I increased the IRC stipend from €16,000 per annum to €18,500, matching that of SFI. In the context of the Government's cost of living package, I was happy to secure a further €500 increase for the SFI and IRC PhD stipends. However, a more fundamental look at stipends and other associated issues that I hear about from students is merited at this stage.

My Department does not collate information on the level of stipends awarded by funding agencies. However, I can confirm that the stipends provided by the SFI and the IRC are set at €18,500. I understand there is variation in stipends awarded by other bodies, whether sourced from public funds, own resources or private funds. The issue of a recommended minimum stipend is one that could usefully be considered by the review I am initiating currently. There could be merit in that. At the moment, stipends are funded either through the two agencies, the IRC and the SFI, but also by individual institutions. Some can come from private funding, some from public funding and some from a mix of both. There is not this issue of a recommended minimum stipend in Ireland and I think that is something we could usefully advance in the context of the review.

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