Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 578: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the cost to the Exchequer of abolishing third level tuition fees in respect of part-time courses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2961/10]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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There are currently some 21,000 part-time undergraduate students enrolled in the university and institute of technology sectors. It is not known how many of these students would qualify under any extension of the Free Fees Initiative as this would be determined by the eligibility criteria that would apply to such a scheme, including for example, residency, nationality, previous higher education attainment etc. The availability of free fees would also be likely to impact on future demand for access to higher education on a part-time basis. Accordingly, the Deputy will appreciate that any estimate of costs is very tentative depending on the range of variables referred to.

The annual revenue that is currently generated by part-time tuition fees amounts to some €40 million. In addition, taking into account the associated unit funding cost implications for colleges as well as the likely growth in numbers, it is tentatively estimated that such factors could bring costs up to €100 million per annum.