Linda Nelson Murray (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for coming in today to debate my Commencement matter. As a former Member of the Seanad on the cultural and educational panel, I am sure he will be interested in what I am talking about here.

As an employer and having spoken to parents, I have noticed the unfair nature in which holiday earnings are calculated for the Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, grant. At present, if you are a student registered on a full-time course and you are working, SUSI can deduct a portion of your income earned outside of term time. These are classified as holiday earnings and, for the 2025-26 academic year, the maximum deduction is €8,424 and applies to income earned during Easter, summer and Christmas holidays.Do not get me wrong: this is great as it allows people to work some hours at a time they are off college. However, the way the SUSI grant is calculated no longer reflects the true cost of being a student. Rent is higher than ever for students, food costs are increasing, and this is before we consider transport, books, materials, and basic living expenses. While income thresholds that determine the grant a student receives have changed, they have not changed enough. Students are currently unfairly penalised if they are working too much while they study. Students should be encouraged to work part-time as much as they can while in college without risking any cuts to their SUSI grant and, obviously, without it negatively affecting their course, but let them decide that. As an owner of a small business, we have staff, particularly those in secondary school moving on to college, worried about working hours as they do not want it to affect them obtaining grants through SUSI. Many businesses have staffing issues and many students need money to support their studies and lifestyle. We must consider extending the holiday earnings deduction to allow for a percentage of part-time work throughout the year. This would benefit students and businesses alike.

Like many, when I was in college, I worked during holidays and weekends to support myself living away from home. It is important to promote hard work and to instil in our young people the benefits of getting up and going to work. The SUSI threshold is a barrier to those students who want to stand on their own two feet as much as they can while still in full-time education. I am calling for the threshold for students working to increase to €12,000 as a starting point and allow it for the entire year, not just holiday earnings. I would, of course, like to see this increased to €14,000 in next year's budget. This will allow students to work a couple of days per week or perhaps a couple of evenings without impacting their SUSI grant. It is an absolute win, win, win, for students, for parents, and for businesses. For students, they are learning a trade and earning money. I worked in Dunnes Stores. In the 1990s you worked very hard when you were in Dunnes Stores. It was a great lesson in life, and it was great for wages. I also worked in a chemist, which was another great job, and it helped me keep my social life going too. For parents, it will help relieve some of the stress they have with all of the costs, and for businesses, they are getting staff, particularly in hospitality and leisure, when they are busy at weekends.

College is a great opportunity for young people to learn and grow and is, ultimately, a path to building a career and contributing to the economy. It is time for a common-sense approach to calculating the SUSI grant and to provide supports, while also enabling students to ultimately support themselves.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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I thank Senator Nelson Murray for raising this issue. It is a matter that has been brought to the attention of the Department on a number of occasions. The main financial support available to students is SUSI. Reckonable income includes all sources of household income, including income from a student’s employment. However, holiday earnings is income that a student can earn outside their term time that can be deducted from their total family income assessment, up to a certain limit. This is designed to support students who work during the holidays while also ensuring that work commitments do not interfere with their studies. That limit has increased in recent years, reflecting an increase in the minimum wage.

The issue of holiday earnings has been raised by various stakeholders and by students' unions. Over the past few years, the Department has published an annual options paper which outlines the costs and potential impacts of a range of policy options aimed at reducing the cost of higher education. The Minister recently published this paper, and options around holiday earnings have been costed for consideration. The options paper is available to view the Government website. The options outlined in the paper note that any potential removal of the provision which limits the deduction of holiday earnings to earnings outside of term time and the limit remaining at €8,424 would have a potential full year cost of €26 million. Increasing this limit to €12,000 could have a potential full-year cost of up to €35 million. SUSI estimates that circa 20,500 students could benefit from this change and could also see some students qualifying for the special rate of maintenance grant. Any amendments to this must be considered in the overall budgetary context and the large number of competing demands on funding.

Linda Nelson Murray (Fine Gael)
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Okay, so it is going to cost €35 million to do it, but there is a tax gain to the Government, there is a gain for businesses, there is a gain for students, and there is a gain for parents. We should not even have to think about this. The minimum wage is €12.15 for a 19-year-old. If they earn that, or the current full minimum wage of €13.50, and work the summer, Christmas and Easter holidays, they are covered for their holiday earnings. I do not know whether the Minister of State worked during college or not, but students should not be penalised in their SUSI grant for working at weekends throughout college. What I am proposing allows students to work a further 290 hours throughout the year. That spread throughout all the other weeks is only one day per week.It is one eight-hour shift or two four-hour shifts that we are allowing students to work without it coming off their SUSI grant. I want to see this and I will be pushing for it to happen in the budget.

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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As the Minister has said, there are competing demands. I know the Senator and other colleagues were looking for the student contribution to be reduced again this year as well. The Minister has a certain amount of money and he is trying to balance all of the competing demands. They are all worthy. Nobody could be against any of them, but the simple fact is that it is a financial calculation. It would work for students, but it would come at significant cost. If the Senator has ideas about where the cost could come from or what else could be done if she does not want to go ahead with the €1,000 cut in the fees, I am sure the Minister will consider them. Choices have to be made by the Department. This is just like increasing the income thresholds to avail of the grant. The Minister has done that this year. That will help this situation and it will also help on a broader basis.

The funding allocation for the student grant scheme is determined in the context of the overall Estimates and the budgetary process undertaken by all Departments. The Minister is very positive about this. I do not think he is against doing this in any principled way. In fact, he has not stated his position. What I think he has said is that this is all under discussion in the context of the budget and the various competing demands. The Minister wishes to emphasise his commitment to examining all the options carefully. He has published these as options from his Department. They have not come out of thin air. The Minister is open to progressing changes that can make a meaningful difference for students and their families. We want to make sure that we explore the most effective ways to support students in managing these costs and ensuring they receive all the necessary help to get ahead.

The reason for the limit is to prevent students working so much during their higher and further education that it negatively impacts on their ability to fully participate in their course. If we were to raise the disregard to €12,000, it is basically the same thing as increasing the income thresholds. The Minister has, in fact, already done that this year. Standard rate thresholds have increased by at least 15%. It is food for thought from the Senator and from the options paper. I have no doubt that in the context of the discussions the Ministers are having, probably as we speak, and in the coming weeks, that the best possible solution will be achieved.

Pat Casey (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister of State for coming in today.