Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Read your manifesto, Deputy Donnelly. You did not commit in Northern Ireland to reducing student fees. A Sinn Féin Minister for Education presided over a student loan system and the fees are the equivalent of €5,500. In this jurisdiction, the Government, of which I am proud to be part, cut college fees last time for the first time in 27 years. This year there will be a permanent reduction of €500 in college fees for all families with a household income of less than €100,000. All student grants have increased by between 10% and 14%, a higher rate than the rate of inflation. A double student grant payment was paid last Christmas. The student assistance fund is at the highest level it has ever been, at €20 million. Public transport fees have been cut for all citizens, particularly for those between the ages of 17 and 24, many of whom are students. Apprenticeship fees, sadly not mentioned in the motion, were cut and new bursaries introduced for our apprentices.

I assure Deputy Mairéad Farrell and others, who bring the motion in good faith, that there will be more measures to help students and families in the forthcoming college year. I will, as I said at question time, work with Deputies on that. We must keep an unrelenting focus on reducing the cost of education. Later this summer, we will publish a cost of education paper for college outlining all the options available to Government so Government, Opposition, students, the media, parents and everyone has an opportunity to scrutinise what could be done in a budget, the different choices and what they would cost.

Student accommodation is a major challenge and that is why we have developed a new approach to it. For the first time, we are investing taxpayers' money in the construction of student accommodation. We have got four projects over the line so far and are actively working with UCD, Trinity and UCC on their proposals. Later this week, I will announce details of how we will activate the plans for the technological university sector. In return for State investment, the university must provide a percentage of the beds below market rent for key priority groups.

We have done much and need to do a lot more. We will work in the coming weeks to bring forward more proposals for the budget and for the college year. I agree everyone who wants to access education must be able to but we live in a country with more college places and pathways than ever before, where grants are rising, fees are falling and there are new apprenticeship supports and technological universities bringing higher education into the regions and into rural Ireland.

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