Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Aindrias Moynihan for raising this issue. To be honest about this issue, and it is important to be so, the Government's decision in the budget we announced links the €1,000 reduction to the €3,000 fee. The way I explain this in my own mind, therefore, is that if people are eligible to pay the €3,000 fee, they are then eligible to get the €1,000 reduction. This will benefit in or around 94,000 or 95,000 students between now and Christmas. We all welcome it, including the Deputy.

There is an issue with our relationship with private colleges in this State. I do not necessarily mean our relationship with the institutions but with the students within them. Many students who may attend a private college may still need financial assistance. This idea that people who attend private institutions are not in need of financial assistance is a misplaced understanding of the whole variety of reasons people might go to a private college.

I met the Higher Education Colleges Association, HECA, relatively recently. I met its chief executive and the presidents of the private colleges. As the Higher Education Bill 2022 passed through the Oireachtas, we discussed how this does provide an opportunity for what we call designated status. As part of institutions, be they public or private, seeking designation, we can have a conversation in the context of those institutions deciding to be a designated institution and that not meaning the loss of private status. We will recognise such a college as a designated institution. What conversation does this open for us in respect of student grants and financial assistance for students in need? I would like to have this conversation because I am aware, and I come across these cases, as I am sure the Deputy does in his constituency work as well, where some students are in private institutions but do require financial assistance and at present are blocked from accessing schemes. I think this designation process, therefore, is the route to go. I am happy to engage further with the Deputy in this regard.

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