Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 78: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the provision made in the 2008 Estimates for the targeted fund of €10 million to alleviate fees in public institutions for persons participating in third level study who are in employment and who have not previously pursued a third level qualification as outlined in Section 7.9 of Towards 2016; the administrative procedures of the scheme; when applications will be accepted; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13213/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Paragraph 7.9 of Part VI of Towards 2016 contains a commitment to establish a targeted fund to alleviate fees in Higher Education Authority (HEA) supported public institutions for part-time courses at third level for those at work who have not previously pursued a third level qualification.

A €10m fund, drawn from the National Training Fund, is available with the aim of meeting the above commitment.

As an initial step towards meeting this commitment, a pilot Modular Accreditation Programme commenced in Tallaght Institute of Technology last October, and the HEA intends to develop other pilot programmes for launch this year. These pilot programmes will prove useful in testing the demand for the next phase in meeting the commitment.

The fund will also support a scheme to be developed in close cooperation with ICTU. In designing this scheme, the Government will have regard to the following objectives:

targeting people in work who have not had the opportunity to pursue third level education previously to level 8 on the National Qualifications Framework;

reducing the amount of fees that workers pay;

maintaining the current benefits in relation to employer support and tax relief available to workers in respect of third level fees; and

allowing for a part refund to be paid on successful completion of each academic year of the relevant course.

Officials from my Department will be in touch with the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and ICTU shortly to advance the development of this scheme, and will liaise with education and other stakeholders, with a view to having any new arrangements in place in respect of courses commencing from September 2008. Given this timing the full annual cost will arise in the context of the 2009 estimates.