Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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69. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the position of emigrants hoping to return home to enter full-time third level education and whether he will put in place a policy to accommodate their needs; his views on correspondence (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14559/14]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Under the terms of my Department's Free Fee Schemes the Exchequer meets the cost of tuition fees in respect of eligible students who are pursuing their first undergraduate full-time course of study. The main conditions of the scheme are that students must 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. Students must meet both the nationality and residency criterion in order to be considered under the scheme.

Where students do not qualify for free fees they must pay the appropriate fee as determined by their third level institution. The institutions are autonomous bodies and the level of fee payable by students who do not meet the requirements of the free fees schemes are matters for the relevant institution. However, in the case of students who do not meet the residency clause of the free fees scheme, I have requested that the higher education institutions charge the more moderate EU fees to EU/EEA/Swiss nationals who have completed at least five academic years of study (Primary or Post-Primary level) in the EU/EEA or Switzerland.

This common approach across the sector will provide all prospective students with clarity about the level of tuition fees they may be required to pay.