Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 251: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the amount of revenue his Department estimated the third level registration fee raised per academic year at its current level of €900; his estimates on the revenues expected to be raised by increasing the registration fee to €1,500 in the academic year 2009/2010; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36607/08]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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The student services charge is levied by third level institutions to defray the costs of examinations, registration and students services. All students who are eligible for means tested student support have the student charge paid on their behalf by the Local Authorities or the Vocational Education Committees, in addition to any maintenance grant and tuition fee grant they are entitled to.

The student services charge is collected by each individual institution and the Higher Education Authority (HEA) is currently compiling the 2008/09 enrolment figures so as to determine the total income generated from the student services charge by the institutions for the current academic year.

However based on some 115,000 full-time EU undergraduates in the university and institute of technology sectors the estimated revenue which would be generated by the institutions in the 2008/09 academic year from the charge at €900 is €103.5m.

Should every institution increase the charge to €1,500 for the 2009/10 academic year the total additional estimated revenue generated by the institutions, again based on some 115,000 students, is some €70m. Of the additional €70m some €27m will fall to be met by the Local Authorities and VECs in respect of grant holders.