Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)

I am taking this Adjournment matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn. I wish to thank the Senator for raising this matter.

I will start by explaining the background to the current student services charge. In the context of the introduction of the free fees initiative in the 1995-96 academic year, in acknowledgement of the variation in the arrangements that existed in colleges, a standardised charge was levied by the third-level institutions to defray the costs of examinations, registration and student services. The range of student services in question may include such facilities as on-campus medical and counselling facilities, access and disability services, careers office services, student facilities, student clubs and societies.

As announced by the previous Fianna Fáil-Green Party Government in the 2011 budget, a new flat, higher education student contribution of €2,000 will be introduced with effect from the 2011-12 academic year. This new student contribution will replace the existing student services charge and will apply to all students who currently benefit under the free fees scheme. This contribution will encompass the current student services charge and will also include a contribution by students towards tuition costs.

It is also important to remember that the contribution will continue to be paid by the Exchequer in respect of students who qualify under the third-level grant schemes. Conscious of the financial pressures that this contribution may place on families where family income is marginally in excess of current eligibility levels for maintenance grant support, and on families with more than one sibling in higher education at the same time, the current higher education grants scheme's threshold will be increased to provide for an additional eligibility category of support qualifying for a 50% student contribution.

Arrangements have been made to provide that second and subsequent siblings from a single family will not have to bear the full increased cost of the new €2,000 charge. While the current student services charge in higher education does not qualify for tax relief, the new contribution will be allowable for tax relief. The Finance Act 2011 provides that, with effect from 2011, the first €2,000 in qualifying fees per claim will now be ineligible for tax relief for students in full-time education. An effect of this is that families with two or more children liable for the new student contribution charge will therefore now qualify for tax relief in respect of payments arising from second and subsequent sibling liability. This will result in a reduction in the overall effective cost of the contribution in these cases. Based on current rates of relief, the effective cost of the student contribution, net of tax relief, for second and subsequent siblings will be €1,600 each. These arrangements provide a practical means of giving effect to the commitment made that the full, increased cost of the new contribution would be alleviated for second and subsequent siblings within a single family.

Higher education institutions have also been asked to put in place arrangements under which a student may opt to pay the charge in two equal instalments of 50% in September and 50% in January in a given academic year.

The Government is committed to ensuring that opportunities to engage in higher education continue to be made available to potential learners and that access to higher education will continue to be determined by a student's ability and not his or her financial circumstances.

I would like to thank the Senator for affording me the opportunity to respond to the House on this matter.