Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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96. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for an update on developments from his and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage's refusal to provide a second-year cost-of-living package for students, despite the cost-of-living crisis continuing, resulting in student fees increasing by €1,000; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37827/25]

Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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The decision of the Minister’s Department and the Department of housing not to step in and offer urgent protection for students is seriously misguided and out of touch. Students are already at breaking point and now must face this cost that many cannot afford. Can the Minister not see that this is a deterrent and not an incentive to continue their education?

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for the question and for the earlier debate. It is going to be a long evening and we are both here for the duration, which is right and proper given it is such an important topic.

I want to put on record again my commitment to easing the financial burden on students and families, and my commitment to reducing the cost of education in a way that is sustainable, and not just temporary but permanent; that is equitable and fair, and gives the most to those who need the most; and that is targeted, so we do not just do one-size-fits-all, and that we actually say that we will find the people who really need help and give them real help. Of course, we are going to deliver other measures as well, and we commit to all of our programme for Government commitments. However, I believe in targeted measures. I believe that those who need more help should get more help. That is a fundamental principle, and if anyone in the House disagrees with me on that, they should please explain why.

We know that temporary measures were introduced in the last three budgets and that they provided welcome relief at the time. We also know, and it should be no surprise to anyone in this House albeit it is being portrayed as such, that they were never designed to be permanent solutions. I am approaching budget 2026 by considering what we can do on a permanent basis. That is in line with what is happening across the Government, including the Minister for housing, who was mentioned in the question, and all the other Ministers. We are all considering what we can do on a permanent basis.

It is also true - the debate tonight has shed light on this - that the costs that students experience are not just about the fees. Of course, the fees are a significant cost but there is also accommodation, transport, materials, books and the income disregard around part-time jobs. There is an awful lot more to this. That is why, put simply, there is no silver bullet.

I had a cost-of-education event at Croke Park in April where I met student representatives and many other stakeholders, such as access officers and people who advocate for disadvantaged groups. I listened carefully to them, I listened carefully to the debate tonight, I listened to the debates on radio in recent weeks and I will listen to people over the summer when I continue that consultation. I will publish an options paper that sets out the choices. There are choices and they are not easy choices. We have to take ownership of those choices and bring them forward in the budget. I look forward to that debate.

Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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Earlier on, the Minister lauded one-size-fits-all for secondary education, so why can he not say the same for this?

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I did not say that.

Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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There is a twofold decision coming from the Minister's Department and the Department of housing that offers no support, no protection and no hope to these young people. It is shocking that the Minister has decided to charge students more money for their college education while they are already struggling through this continuous cost-of-living crisis. The Government has shown it is completely out of touch with the pressures ordinary students and their families are facing.

A report that will be launched soon by Gearóid Folan of TUS midwest contains shocking statistics. Some 41.5% of students live with their parents, which puts additional strains on households. Some 0.4% of students are in homeless accommodation. While that may be a small figure, no student should ever have to be in a situation where they are not properly housed. Similarly, 1.7% of students are couchsurfing. How is the Minister going to put things to rights?

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I reiterate what I have said already. No decisions have been made. There is a budgetary arithmetic that has been spelled out by me and others, including the Tánaiste, the Taoiseach, the Minister for Finance and the Minister for public expenditure. It has been spelled out multiple times since that decision was made by the Government. That is the situation we find ourselves in, and that is where we will work towards in the budget. That is normal. If we look at last year, the temporary €1,000 reduction that has been applied in the last three academic years was not announced until October. This is not a new situation. That is why the Deputy’s party had a motion down last year and the year before. This is not novel, unique or unprecedented. This is actually the same situation that prevailed in the last three summers.

I will go into the budget, as will my colleagues, the Minister of State, Deputy Harkin, for the Department, and all the other Ministers across all the other Departments, and fight tooth and nail to get the best outcome for our stakeholders, in my case, students. Of course, we will. That is what we do. However, I cannot predict the outcome of that process. I cannot give the Deputy the budget results in July when the budget is in October, and she knows that. The Deputy also knows the situation in the North, to which I referred earlier in the debate. Her own party has student fees of €5,600, double what they are at their highest in the Republic, and is talking about putting them higher. That is either partitionist or hypocritical, or both.

Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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To talk of students in the North is just a case of “Look over there. Do not look at the mess we are creating here.” That is exactly what the Minister is saying.

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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It is your party.

Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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At least they have certainty. They know what they are budgeting for.

I would also like to mention the pressure on parents now and that households, because of this decision, will struggle to cope. I have parents contacting my office in desperation as they are already paying massive living and grocery costs and are now facing into this payment in September. Students who also work full time are trying their best to meet this cost but for many, this simply will not be possible. What happens then? Do we just cast these young people aside and hope Australia or Canada will offer better opportunities? The Minister says that no decision has been made yet he clearly stated that the fees will revert back up, which means they will go back up to €3,000. That is a decision the Minister made and he said it quite clearly.

The decisions can be made. It does not have to be this way. We need to have the backs of students and their families. We will demand better for our young people. The Minister says he will too, but he is not giving them certainty. The Minister is not giving them any hope. The Minister speaks of the future. It has been said previously that fees will be reduced or fees will be abolished, and they have not yet been.

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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Actually, that is exactly what happened. It was said and it happened in the last three budgets. Exactly the same process is playing out in this year as it did in every other year.

I have listened with great sympathy and great interest to, and I have taken note of the detail of, many of the cases raised in debates in the House and elsewhere and a great number of students and their families are already receiving significant supports. Of course, €1,000 is a lot of money and of course they are paying additional fees, but we have to acknowledge that a huge number of students are not paying fees at all or in full because there are already such significant supports.

The income thresholds is €115,000. That is a reasonably good salary. It is not controversial to say that. The threshold for student supports is €115,000.

Pearse Doherty (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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By household.

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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Everybody under that threshold will get some support and many will get far more fulsome support. Sixty-five thousand students will get a full grant support from Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI. One hundred and forty-three thousand students will have their tuition fees paid by the State. Those thresholds go up, again and again. I intend to revisit all of those measures in October for the following year also.