Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am very pleased to have an opportunity to confirm details of the budget for the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science for the coming year. Cost should never be a barrier when it comes to education. It should never be a barrier to someone reaching their full potential or pursuing their goals and getting to where they want to in life. What we are trying to do in this budget is, yet again, to remove barriers, break down barriers and make further and higher education more accessible for more people in more ways than ever before. This is a budget that supports young people, supports their families, supports people trying to get back into education and supports people through education and training. It is a budget that recognises that education is a driver of innovation, a driver of skills development and a tool that can break intergenerational poverty and help each of us reach our full potential.

While we know inflation might be falling, we also know that students, parents and families are still facing the weekly shopping bill that is too high or rental costs that can have an impact on their achievements in third level education. One of my priorities when I entered this budget process was to ensure that students and their families can benefit from financial support to help them with the cost of third level education. I am pleased to confirm that third level students who are eligible for free fees will yet again receive a €1,000 reduction in the student contribution. I know the difference this made to people last year. I met those people. I met the parents who told me that getting €1,000 back before Christmas, or getting perhaps €2,000 back if they had two children in college at the same time, made a real and meaningful difference to them. It also means that, this year, people with a household income below €100,000 will see their fees halved; they will actually see their fees reduced to €1,500 because they will get the €1,000 off and they can also get the €500 credit from the SUSI system as well.

In addition, all student grants will increase from January, with none of the waiting until September that we had in previous years. We want to try to bring it forward to January. The grants will increase by up to €615 over the course of the year and €342 this academic year between January and May.

Importantly, and I am very pleased we could get it over the line this year, postgraduate maintenance grants will return on a similar basis to those for undergraduates for the first time since the economic crash. This will put up to €2,384 back in the pockets of our postgraduate students. Since I became Minister, I have taken numerous measures to increase student grants and to try to reform the system. It is clear that the student grant scheme requires to be overhauled or reformed. Legislative change may be required in that regard. Exploring these options is something I intend to do during the course of 2024.

We will also be taking two measures to reform the education system in 2024 because, for the first time ever, the student grant scheme will be extended to part-time students. I genuinely believe that this has the potential to be seismic in the context of opening up opportunities for people. We cannot tell someone to study full-time if that person is a single parent trying to hold down a job, pay the mortgage or rent, raise a child or children or care for a parent. That individual cannot pack his or her bags and head off to university for four years. However, he or she has every right to be able to access an education just like others. What about a person with a disability who wants to do a degree? In some circumstances, it might work to do the degree online or over a longer period. Why should we tell them that we will not help with the fees at all unless they do it full-time? From September, for the first time ever, part-time, online and blended education will be included as part of the free fees initiative. If someone has a household income of €55,924 or less, those fees will be paid for that person. In addition, when it comes to full-time education, all registration fees will be abolished from September for any eligible student with a household income of less than €55,924. These are two practical measures we can take.

I acknowledge the changes that my colleague, the Minister for Finance, brought with regard to digs and the rent-a-room tax credit. This ensures that if a parent is paying the rent for his or her child in college, he or she can claim the renter’s tax credit. People will be able to claim this credit of €750 next year. Better than that, if the student was in digs or renting a room in the previous years, the parent can claim backdated payments of €500 for 2022 and 2023, respectively. That is a significant amount of money we can put back in the pockets of parents or college students during the course of next year.

I am very pleased that we have been able to deliver a significant increase in core funding for higher education. From now and into 2024, there will be a €194 million increase in higher education funding. This will include €60 million in core funding, €35 million for pay and €56 billion for pension deficits and demographics. This means that the Government has paid down more than €100 million of the €307 million deficit found in institutions by Indecon and European Commission in recent years.

We also have money to expand the number of tertiary degrees. These are degrees that are available outside the CAO system in respect of which we assess a person’s suitability based on his or her passion, heart and soul, the difference he or she wants to make and the interview he or she does, rather than the points he or she gets in the leaving certificate. We will also expand those courses.

I am pleased that we are investing in apprenticeships, with €65 million allocated for this sector. There will also be additional supports for under-represented groups in the apprenticeship population.

Tomorrow, I will provide details in how we intend to better support our PhD researchers in the context of their stipend.

Overall, my Department’s budget has increased to over €4 billion, which is a 5% increase on last year. This shows the Government’s commitment to third level education, research and innovation. I am pleased to confirm that we have secured funding to make an application to join CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research and to appoint a chief scientific adviser for Ireland.

Before I hand over to the Minister of State, I want to refer to the alternative budget put forward by Sinn Féin last week. Sinn Féin members marched with students last week and followed up with a protest involving the PhD researchers. They were there, their banners were there, they used the megaphone and they accused the Government of failing students. You can only imagine my shock, let alone the shock of students and parents when they read the alternative budget. There was no reduction in the student contribution fee this year. The students and their parents can wait until next September. Only €40 million of extra money is to go into the universities and not the €60 million we provided. There was not even a mention about the PhD researchers. There were no increases in student grants until next September. We are increasing the grants from January, we are cutting the fees now and we are increasing the stipends next year. We are putting in more to core education. That is what one does. Megaphone politics does not butter the parsnips, feed students or their families or help our education system.

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