Jack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)

I will set out the backdrop to this in the context of the measures that the Government has taken over recent years to make permanent and sustained reductions and interventions that are affordable for many students. If you look at the measures that have been taken, more students than ever are benefiting from financial support through the Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, grant support scheme. One in three students paid no student contribution last year, which is over €44,000, while almost half of students were supported in some way through SUSI last year. Standard rate income thresholds are being increased by 15% from September, one of the largest increases to maintenance thresholds. Households with incomes of up to €64,000 already do not pay a student contribution. There are higher ceilings for families with multiple people attending college at the same time or higher numbers for children. Maintenance grants have been fully restored for eligible postgraduate students and SUSI fee support is now available for the first time ever for specified part-time in-person or hybrid courses.

Despite these measures and permanent changes that were made over a series of budgets, we recognise that many families are under pressure. That is why, in the context of budget 2026, the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Lawless, has said that, in the context of moving away from one-off cost-of-living packages, he wants to see how he can deliver sustained, permanent and costed changes to, for example, the student contribution fee, supports around maintenance and the variety of supports that are there for students. He wants to set that out in the context of the envelope that will be made available. The Minister, Deputy Lawless, will publish an options paper on the cost of education ahead of the budget, setting out the pathways to do this. It will be negotiated in the normal way.

Both the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe, and I approach budget 2026 against a backdrop of a huge level of economic uncertainty. I did not hear the Deputy reference that issue in his contribution. We are one week away from the 9 July tariff deadline. The Exchequer returns due to be published next week will give a point-in-time indication of the broader economic position our country is in. We know that the global position is changing. The concentration risks around corporation tax and income tax are there and must be reflected in a cautious and responsible approach to budget 2026.

The Government is engaging in two important pieces of work. One relates to the summer economic statement and setting out the overall envelope for 2026. The other relates to work on the national development plan - which I know the Minister, Deputy Lawless, has significant ambition for - to drive continued support and capital investment in the third level sector in particular.

With all those major downside risks, we are trying to approach this in a cautious way. We will in the coming weeks agree an envelope that will be made available in terms of current expenditure changes and permanent increases in current expenditure across government. It is in that context that the Minister, Deputy Lawless, will be seeking to prioritise continued supports for students and families and to make permanent changes across a range of supports, whether targeted in nature or around the student contribution fee. It is in the context of the budget negotiation process that we will be able to set out the position for families in the aftermath of budget 2026 and what will be possible. The Deputy knows, as does everyone else in the House, that this is the normal way we engage in the budget process. We are not announcing measures or changes right now. We are engaging in the summer economic statement process and agreeing a new national development plan to set out the broader economic context for 2026.

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