Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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235. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the way a person who was born here, has Irish parents, studied here until the age of 15 is now not permitted to attend university here; this person had to travel to America for two years with their parents for work purposes, the family is now back here and would like their child to attend university here but are being charged non-EU citizen prices to study here, the rule that a student must have been resident in the State three out of the past five years is extremely unfair in certain circumstances and is prohibiting families and persons who were forced to leave here for a period of time for work; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33447/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Under the terms of my Department's Free Fee Initiative the Exchequer meets the cost of tuition fees in respect of eligible students who are pursuing full-time undergraduate courses of study which are a minimum of two years duration in an approved higher education institution. The main conditions of the scheme are that students must be first-time undergraduates, hold inter alia EU/EEA/Swiss nationality in their own right, and have been ordinarily resident in an EU/EEA/Swiss state for at least three of the five years preceding their entry to an approved third level course.

Higher education institutions are autonomous bodies and the criteria governing the level of tuition fees to be charged (EU or Non EU rate), in cases where undergraduate students do not qualify for free fees is a matter for the institutions to determine in accordance with their own criteria. 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 on www.revenue.ie.