Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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96. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his engagement with private third level institutions on the one-off €1,000 reduction in the student contribution fee for higher education students to ensure their inclusion in this measure; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51645/22]

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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The introduction of the €1,000 reduction in third level fees is a positive development and has been widely welcomed. For various reasons, however, some students find themselves excluded. Has the Minister engaged with the various institutions and examined opportunities and ways in which the students can be included within the ambit of this fee reduction, if this is possible?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank Deputy Aindrias Moynihan for raising this issue. To be honest about this issue, and it is important to be so, the Government's decision in the budget we announced links the €1,000 reduction to the €3,000 fee. The way I explain this in my own mind, therefore, is that if people are eligible to pay the €3,000 fee, they are then eligible to get the €1,000 reduction. This will benefit in or around 94,000 or 95,000 students between now and Christmas. We all welcome it, including the Deputy.

There is an issue with our relationship with private colleges in this State. I do not necessarily mean our relationship with the institutions but with the students within them. Many students who may attend a private college may still need financial assistance. This idea that people who attend private institutions are not in need of financial assistance is a misplaced understanding of the whole variety of reasons people might go to a private college.

I met the Higher Education Colleges Association, HECA, relatively recently. I met its chief executive and the presidents of the private colleges. As the Higher Education Bill 2022 passed through the Oireachtas, we discussed how this does provide an opportunity for what we call designated status. As part of institutions, be they public or private, seeking designation, we can have a conversation in the context of those institutions deciding to be a designated institution and that not meaning the loss of private status. We will recognise such a college as a designated institution. What conversation does this open for us in respect of student grants and financial assistance for students in need? I would like to have this conversation because I am aware, and I come across these cases, as I am sure the Deputy does in his constituency work as well, where some students are in private institutions but do require financial assistance and at present are blocked from accessing schemes. I think this designation process, therefore, is the route to go. I am happy to engage further with the Deputy in this regard.

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister for the overview of this area. Typically, I understand that the free fee scheme acts as the qualifying criterion in this regard. For a whole range of different reasons, though, students may be attending different courses and they will be feeling the same pressures in respect of accommodation, energy and food cost-of-living issues as everybody else. Being in that situation is not determined by the course being pursued. For these students, therefore, to be able to access the fee reduction is important, if this opportunity is possible. It is good that the Minister engaged with various stakeholders on this issue. Has the question emerged regarding quantifying how many people find themselves in this situation on these courses? Has the Minister been able to get a measure of this problem?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Truthfully, I do not have the information here. If I do, I cannot come across it now but I will get it for the Deputy. He has made a fair point. I agree with his analysis that there are many students attending a whole variety of institutions that are not publicly funded but who may need assistance. This could be in terms of the cost-of-living crisis or in respect of other issues that can arise from time to time, in the context of the fund for students with disabilities, SUSI student grants and the like. I have clearly told the sector, and its representatives will confirm, that I believe the way forward is to have the conversation about being a designated institution. If we are to have any sort of relationship involving taxpayers' money, then it will be in the context where the new Higher Education Authority legislation now provides opportunities in this regard. The budget announcement delivered in this House last month by the Minister, Deputy Michael McGrath, and the Minister, Deputy Donohoe, provides a whole variety of ways of trying to help people. The reduction in student fees is just one of them. It is right and proper and somewhat understandable, though I am sure frustrating for some, that only institutions that are publicly funded, where a fee is set in this House, can be provided with a reduction in fees. We can only really provide a reduction in the context of fees imposed by the Government, as opposed to those set by private institutions.

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister and draw his attention to several other students also falling outside this scheme, even though they are part of the free fees scheme. I refer to part-time students. Many people doing the green certificate, for example, will do it part time.

People could be doing part-time courses for a variety of reasons. People who are repeating a year are finding themselves excluded from it as well. If there was some way of supporting them in the scheme, that would be important. During the pandemic, many people have had stressful and difficult experiences with the leaving certificate and with starting college. What happened to them may have challenged their abilities when it comes to college.

In the context of non-EU citizens, the perception often is that these people are coming from outside the country. However, within the country, there are people in direct provision who have come through the system, who sat the leaving certificate, who would be looking to go to college and who will possibly find themselves hit with those fees, as well as finding themselves excluded. Is there a way of bringing on board those people who find themselves outside of the system?

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy has rightly highlighted the work that remains to be done in reducing the cost of education. The Government that we are a part of - my party, the Deputy's and the Green Party - is the first to reduce college fees in about 27 years. It is a first step and it is not the only step we intend to take together. It has to be seen in the round. There is a reduction in the €1,000 fee, which is once-off. There is a permanent reduction of €500 from next year and an increase in the postgraduate supports so that more students who access SUSI as postgraduates will get a higher amount of support. There is an increased stipend for PhD students, which is a once-off payment, and in 2023 there will be an extra SUSI payment on 16 December. There will be increases in student grants by 10% to 14% from January. However, the Deputy is right, particularly on part-time students. One of the priorities for the Department and me for 2023 is to see how we begin to define part-time students and the criteria, particularly for SUSI. I accept that there is more to be done and the Deputy has given me a useful to-do list to be working on.