Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is having a real benefit because I am very conscious that 96,000 people were getting €1,000 back on fees they had paid. This was just before Christmas. Getting €1,000 knocked off a bill has a real and meaningful impact. Increasing student grants well above the inflation rate is a real term increase. Providing €750 in a renter's tax credit back to a student - or to the parent of a student who pays the rent - makes a real difference. That will be back-dated for a number of years if the student has been in accommodation for a number of years.

Since the establishment of my Department we have made a number of important changes to reduce the cost of education. The Deputy and I have supported these in the Dáil: we have increased maintenance grants; we have increased certain income thresholds; we provided a new grant towards the student contribution fee for eligible incomes between €62,000 and €100,000; we changed the adjacency rules; we have reduced the length of time that a mature student must have passed before they can avail of supports; we have improved postgraduate supports; we have reduced fees; and in recent years Covid and cost-of-living measures have also improved supports for students.

The thing I am most excited about are the changes we are bringing in from September for part-time education and making sure people on lower incomes will benefit from no fees if they qualify for an eligible part-time course.

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