Anne Rabbitte (Galway East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Collins. It is wonderful that we have this Department. It puts a strong emphasis on higher education as a stand-alone where a Minister and Minister of State work with a team in the Department.

The full cost of a higher education place can vary depending on a variety factors, including the type of course and the specific arrangements for course delivery. At present, there is some differentiation in the costing approach within the sector. The university sector collects full economic costing data. The institute of technology and technical university sector collects unit cost data which involves a different methodology to full economic costing, FEC. Details provided by the Higher Education Authority, HEA, give a sample of both the costs in various disciplines. For instance, laboratory based undergraduate disciplines, such as science or engineering, will have a greater cost at around €10,000 to €11,000 per student than non-laboratory disciplines such as arts or business courses, which cost in the region of €7,000 per student. Taking all disciplines into account the average undergraduate cost for a student would currently be in the region of €9,000 or €10,000 per student per year, as the Senator said.

The latest university FEC data for 2016-2017 indicates that the average cost for a laboratory-based postgraduate taught student is circa €15,000 per student per year while the average cost for a non-laboratory postgraduate taught student is in the region of €12,000 per student per year. An average cost for a laboratory-based postgraduate research student is approximately €18,000 per student per year. An average cost for a non-laboratory postgraduate research student is circa €21,000 per student per year.

The Department is very much aware of the need to understand the costs of higher education course provision. In 2016, the HEA appointed an independent expert panel to review the current allocation model for funding higher education and to make recommendations on the most appropriate funding model for the future.The completed review recommends reforms to the Higher Education Authority funding distribution model. A key recommendation of the review of the allocation model, RFAM, report is the development of a costing model to be applied consistently across higher education institutes. At present, there is some differentiation in the costing approach as between universities, technological universities and institutes of technology. Deloitte was appointed by the HEA in 2019 to undertake a scoping exercise on an appropriate model. In 2021 the HEA, working with the Departments of Education and Public Expenditure and Reform, the Irish Universities Association, IUA, and the Technological Higher Education Association, THEA, will commence development of a conceptual framework on the journey towards adoption of a universal costing system applying across the entire higher education sector.

Regarding the implementation of the Cassells report, the expert group report of 2016, Investing in National Ambition: A Strategy for Funding Higher Education, confirmed that higher education makes a hugely positive contribution to the development of individuals, employers, society and the State. The report concluded that the current approach to funding was unsustainable and that substantial increases in investment in higher education must be made to ensure that the sector can remain viable and provide the capacity to meet the major increase in student demand projected up to 2030. The expert group report has opened up an important debate in Ireland on how our third level education system should be funded.

The report made three major proposals, namely, a predominantly State-funded system; increased State funding with continuing student fees; and increased State funding with deferred payment of fees through income contingent loans. The development of a sustainable funding model for higher education is essential in light of the centrality of higher education to our progress as a country. The future development of Ireland as an inclusive society and a knowledge economy, against the backdrop of the rapid technological changes referenced, will be critically dependent on the quality of our graduates.