Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Deputy and I must talk to different students, which is entirely possible. I have met many students and parents who really welcome that rather than having to wait until next September for a fee reduction that might happen, we have taken the opportunity in the cost-of-living package to ensure tens of thousands of students will get €1,000 back before Christmas and tens of thousands of people will get an increase in their postgraduate fee contribution. In addition, the PhD stipend will rise for many from January.

I fully accept that we have more to do. However, I certainly was not going to look a gift horse in the mouth when money was available right now by way of cost-of-living measures. I put that money to good use for students and families. I have made it a priority to reduce the cost of third level education. Cost should not be a barrier to education, as the Deputy and I agree. It should never be a barrier to people reaching their full potential, pursuing their goal and getting to where they want to be in life. Over several budgets, we have made a number of significant policy changes to reduce the cost of education for families. Since my appointment as Minister, student grants have increased by between 28% and 101%, depending on the grant received.

Budget 2024 aims to remove more barriers and make further and higher education more accessible. The measures in the cost-of-living package for my Department, which total €115 million, will support young people and their families. For the second year in a row, we have reduced the contribution fee by €1,000 for 94,000 eligible undergraduates. This reduction will apply automatically. If students' household income is less than €100,000, they are eligible for a further €500 reduction in fees, meaning the college fee will be halved to €1,500. This will automatically put money back in people's pockets. Apprentice fees for 11,000 apprentices will be reduced by one third. There will be an increase of €1,000 in the postgraduate tuition fee contribution grant for student recipients, to be paid by Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI. From January, for the first time since the financial crash, the postgraduate maintenance grant is coming back. We have topped up the student assistance fund. We are making permanent increases to the student grant, which will apply from January. As I said, we have more to do. I share the Deputy's aim to reduce the registration fee over time but I wanted to make real progress in this budget.

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