Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail)
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17. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans for the future funding of third level education and the student registration charge; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16468/14]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Work is ongoing between my Department and the Higher Education Authority (HEA) on future funding policy for higher education. This builds upon the substantial amount of work already undertaken by the HEA. The objective is to identify a range of approaches that, combined, will achieve a sustainable funding base to address the continual expansion of the sector while protecting the quality of education.

After the introduction of free fees under Niamh Breathnach, successive Fianna Fail Ministers oversaw a 922% increase in the student service charge, between 1997 and 2011. The Student Contribution (formerly the Student Services Charge) stands at €2,500 for the current academic year and is payable by students who qualify under my Department's free fees schemes. I have already signalled my intention to increase the Student Contribution by €250 each year hereafter until the 2015/16 academic year when the contribution will stand at €3,000. We have tried to preserve as much equity of access within the system as possible, with over 40% of all undergraduate students exempt from this student contribution last year. Even with this number of students exempted from the student contribution, it remains a challenge to many families, and we still need to find a longer term solution to the funding of third level.