Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am sure the Deputy will agree that we must start with those most in need. Ministers have to work with the resources that are available and it is right to target them at those most in need. From next September, any student with a household income below €56,000 will pay a grand total of zero in undergraduate fees. I often see that among secondary school students, many of them think their parents will have to pay €3,000 in college fees, which they may not have. This is not true. Anybody in this country with a household income below €56,000 pays zero fees. That needs to be said. Any family with a household income below €100,000 has had student fees halved if the student is doing a full-time undergraduate degree. Anybody with an income above €100,000 is getting €1,000 off college fees.

I did not think it right that people would have to wait until next September for a reduction, as per the budget proposal by the Deputy's party. I want to make real progress and permanent reductions. The fact we have reduced fees not once but twice is a clear indication of the policy direction in which both the Deputy and I want to go, which is about reducing the cost of education for families.

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