James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)

My Department was born from a vision that Ireland's next greatest leap forward would come not from luck or lower taxes, but from knowledge, skills and innovation. It would come from investing in our people as the true engine of national prosperity. That mission is to be the economic engine room of Ireland's future. Under this remit, we are cultivating the skills, research and talent that drive on our economy and our society. From classrooms to construction sites, from labs to lecture halls, from apprenticeships to artificial intelligence, the €5 billion I have secured in budget 2026 for my Department builds directly on that purpose, investing in people, powering enterprise and preparing Ireland for the challenges of tomorrow.

I have listened intently to what my stakeholders have said and I am responding. In this budget, I am delivering for students, for families, for communities and for economic progress. Starting with students, this is a budget that puts students first. It makes education more affordable and more accessible. For the first time since the free fees initiative in 1995, I am permanently cutting student fees with a cut to the student contribution fee of €500. That is a landmark reform. It is not a temporary cost-of-living measure, but structural change cooked into the baseline in future and will benefit 108,000 students year after year. It provides the stability and certainty that I promised students and their families, and that they asked me for when I met them over the last six months.

I am also permanently reducing the contribution fee for 14,000 apprentices in higher education by up to 17%, recognising their unique role in Ireland's economic future. I will return to that later.

I have also increased the SUSI grant income threshold to €120,000. All families with an income of up to €120,000 will now receive at least some form of SUSI support. That is the highest threshold ever in the State's history. This means thousands more families now qualify for grant support.

I am also aware that the pressures on students go far beyond the lecture theatre. In this budget, from September 2026, I am increasing maintenance grants for students who live more than 30 km away from college, the non-adjacent rate. That is increasing by up to €430. That is targeted, real tangible support for 30,000 students across further and higher education helping with the cost of rent, travel and student life.

I have also taken on board the feedback from students and their families who have said they need help now. That is why, from January 2026, students will begin to see an immediate pro rataincrease in their SUSI payments. I am also increasing the postgraduate fee contribution made by my Department and the State from €4,000 to €4,500 to ensure that opportunity does not end at undergraduate level. From next September, the special rate threshold for those in this hard-pressed bracket will increase to €28,600. This will ensure that students from lower income families are not left behind. Those who need help the most will get the most help. That is a fundamental principle of social justice, one in which I deeply believe.

There are many other measures in development that I have asked my officials to cost and consider for subsequent budgets. These include supports for larger families where there is more than one sibling in college at the same time and a critical skills bursary to incentive and reward entry into key professions the State needs.

In this budget, I have introduced a pilot fund of €500,000 to support placements by providing equipment grants for those students who have expensive purchases relating to placements they must undertake as part of their courses.

Moving on from higher education to look at the apprenticeship system and the skills we need, every home we build, wind turbine we construct and hospital or data centre we open depend on skills and skilled people. That is why I have secured a record €79 million investment for apprenticeships. This is the largest increase since my Department was founded and it brings the overall budget for apprenticeships to more than €400 million, double what it was just five years ago. The results speak for themselves. Apprentice registrations have increased by 75% in the past five years. The overall number of apprentices is up to 30,000, and we are on track to meet our programme for Government commitments to have 12,500 annual registrations by 2030.

If education builds the person, then research builds the nation. I am announcing a major expansion of our research system. Under the national development plan, I have secured €4.55 billion in capital funding for my Department. Of this, €2.3 billion will be dedicated to research and innovation, with €425 million to be allocated in 2026 alone. That is a transformative increase of a scale not seen for a decade. We are increasing the research and development tax credit to 35%, which will attract and incentivise the innovation and investment we need.

I am also investing strategically in healthcare education, disability provision, new places in therapy, disability, social care, medicine, pharmacy, dentistry, veterinary, alongside expanded nursing and medicine courses and cross-Border programmes with Northern Ireland to support the healthcare needs we have. I will be supporting students by means of mental health bursaries of up to €1 million, an additional €3 million for the students’ disability fund and many other measures.

Grants, thresholds, apprenticeships and health places are up, while student fees are down. I commend this budget to the House.

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