Billy Lawless (Independent)
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I thank the Cathaoirleach for selecting this Commencement matter. I also thank the Minister of State, Deputy Damien English, for attending.

In 1995 the then Government decided to abolish undergraduate fees for Irish and other EU students. The scheme was generally referred to as the free fees initiative. Fees were cut by 50% in 1995 and eliminated thereafter. In announcing the introduction of free fees in Ireland on 9 February 1995 the then Minister, Niamh Bhreathnach, expressed to Dáil Éireann the universality dimension to what was a radical change in third level education in the State. She stated, "An education system which will no longer decide on behalf of its students what is a right and what is a privilege is an education system which aspires to include all the needs of the community." She went on to express the intent behind the free fees initiative, which has stood to this very day:

Education is the most pervasive and sustained interaction between the child, the family and the State and I believe that it is the most important such relationship. The importance of the individual child is central to my vision of education.

I agree wholeheartedly with the sentiments expressed by the then Minister in 1995 and the continuation of the free fees initiative by successive Ministers for the past 20 years, but I cannot stand over how the scheme does not cherish all of Ireland's children equally. Article 2 of the Constitution reads:

It is the entitlement and birthright of every person born in the island of Ireland, which includes its islands and seas, to be part of the Irish Nation. That is also the entitlement of all persons otherwise qualified in accordance with law to be citizens of Ireland.

It is the final passage of Article 2 which is crucial that I would like the Minister of State to consider: "Furthermore, the Irish nation cherishes its special affinity with people of Irish ancestry living abroad who share its cultural identity and heritage". How can it be said the free fees initiative includes all of the needs of the community when the very community the entitlement of which is enshrined in the Constitution will actually be discriminated against should its members wish to obtain a third level education in this country? I ask the Minister of State to consider how his Department, the Higher Education Authority or the third level colleges for which his Department provides block grants can determine that an Irish citizen who has resided in Ireland for at least three years is more worthy of access to the third level education system than an Irish citizen who has lived abroad. It is constitutionally inappropriate that Irish citizens abroad are discriminated against in such a manifest fashion in the delivery of third level education services. Irish citizens abroad are no less Irish than the Minister of State or me. If they determine that they wish to study in Ireland, they will pay VAT on the products they purchase, tax on any part-time income they generate and, no doubt, a few quid for the beer they drink, like any other student. In return for the same contribution their fellow Irish citizens make to the State, they will not, however, be entitled to the same level of support for the education services to which, as citizens of the State, they are entitled.

An obstacle faced by children of emigrants to the United States is the American citizenship or permanent resident rule that applies to many scholarships to colleges in the United States. Many of the children concerned are consequently prohibited from applying for these scholarships as they are not US citizens. Therefore, they find themselves in the unenviable position of being disadvantaged by the citizenship requirement in the country in which they reside and the residency requirement in the country of which they are citizens, namely, Ireland. This double disadvantage leaves them in an educational limbo.

I have seen at first hand the commitment the Government has made to the diaspora, to which in many ways my appointment to the Seanad is testament, but I cannot see how, as a matter of basic fairness, the Minister can justify this form of discrimination against those very citizens in respect of whom it is the stated policy of the Government to foster deeper ties and relations. At a time when walls are being built on the other side of the Atlantic, why would the State not want to attract the best and brightest back to Ireland and bring them through the third level education system in order that they could be the nurses, doctors, engineers and scientists of the future? On behalf of all Irish citizens, be they living abroad or at home, I implore the Minister of State to uphold Government policy, respect the Constitution and put an end to the continuation of this discriminatory practice in the administration of the free fees initiative in third level institutions.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I thank Senator Billy Lawless for raising this matter. I want to apologise on behalf of my colleague, the Minister, Deputy Richard Bruton, who is engaged in the other House and cannot be here for this debate, although he wanted to be here because it is an important issue.

I will begin by explaining the background to the current free fees schemes. Under the terms of the Department’s free fees schemes, the executor meets the cost of tuition fees in respect of eligible students who are pursuing full-time undergraduate courses of study which are of a minimum of two years duration in an approved institution. The main conditions of the scheme are that students must be first-time undergraduates, meet the nationality clause, which is Irish, EU, EAA or Swiss, of the scheme in their own right and, for study at levels 6, 7 and 8 in universities and level 8 in institutes of technology, and have been ordinarily resident in an EU, EEA or Swiss state for at least three of the five years preceding their entry to an approved third level course.

Where students do not meet the eligibility requirements for free tuition fees, including the residency requirement, they are liable to pay the appropriate tuition fee, either EU or non-EU, as determined by the third level institution. These institutions are autonomous bodies and the level of fee payable by students who do not meet the requirements of the free fees schemes is therefore a matter for the relevant institution. Due to concerns about the fact that in some cases the higher non-EU fee was being charged to students who hold EU, EEA, Swiss nationality but who do not meet the residency clause for free fees, the then Minister for Education and Skills requested, in March 2014, that the higher education institutions charge the more moderate EU fee to such students who have completed at least five academic years of study, at primary or post-primary level, in Ireland, the EU, the EEA or Switzerland and commence their first undergraduate course of study in an approved institution here.

That position took effect from the academic year 2014-2015 onwards. The particular concern was in regard to those people who have had to move abroad for occupational or economic reasons requiring them to take their children out of the Irish education system in the process. If, after a period, they return to live in Ireland, their children may not have met, in some cases, the residency criteria necessary to qualify for free fees. In addition, they may then have found themselves to be doubly disadvantaged by being charged a higher non-EU rate of free fees designed for international students rather than the more moderate EU rate. The Department was anxious to ensure that the children who move out of the Irish education system in such circumstances and subsequently return should not be doubly disadvantaged by being charged a higher non-EU rate of fee.

Tax relief at the standard rate of tax may be claimed in respect of tuition fees paid for approved courses at approved colleges of higher education. Further information on this tax relief is available from the Revenue Commissioners.

To alter the residency requirement would significantly extend eligibility for free fees and would have to be extended not only to Irish nationals but also to the nationals of other EU countries. It could only be considered in the context of additional Exchequer resources being made available to the colleges. Senator Lawless is raising the issue of citizens living in the United States, which I will raise with the Minister, Deputy Bruton, but it is a discussion that would only happen if there is increased funding available to be able to make it available to the institutions. It would open the doors not just to our own citizens, regardless of where they live, but also to other EU nationals living here. It is a cost that might prove to be unmanageable for us at this time. I thank the Senator for affording me the opportunity to respond to the House on this matter and bring some clarity to it also. I will pass on the Deputy's sentiments and the argument he is making to the Minister to allow him further analyse the position.

Billy Lawless (Independent)
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I thank the Minister for the response. I would like to put on record that whereas I am aware they do not fall under his responsibility, in addition to issues around access to third level education there are a number of other problems facing returning emigrants, including car insurance, driving licences, grants for first-time home buyers, etc. I would ask that the Government as a whole begin a dialogue with all support organisations to address these issues. We want our citizens abroad to return home and we should not put any barriers in front of them. I again thank the Minister for coming into the House.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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That is something I would certainly welcome. I know from my previous role in the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and my current one in the Department of Education and Skills that even from a skills point of view and from the point of view of our economy, many people such as the ones the Senator represents are abroad with the skills we need. From a construction point of view, the housing agenda I am involved in with the Minister, Deputy Simon Coveney, and across many other Departments in terms of the science and research agenda and the many technology jobs, we need the people who have those skills to come home.We need people who come home to have the skills as well and they also need to be able to upskill when they get there. We have an interest in trying to eliminate some of the barriers. Senator Lawless has touched on some of them, namely, housing and car insurance but even fitting back into the system can be complicated when it comes to social welfare. We are aware of the issues and we have attempted it in some areas with enterprise but perhaps a greater effort is required by all of us. I would be interested in engaging with the various bodies that are there to help, and the representative bodies in order to make this happen. With certain issues, if we deal with them in advance it can make it easier for people to make that journey home.

Billy Lawless (Independent)
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I appreciate what the Minister of State has outlined and thank him.