Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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60. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the basis of the fees that are required to be paid by persons who are involved in an official apprenticeship scheme and are required to attend a college, such as Cork Institute of Technology or other colleges, for a 13-week period and are charged €913 in fees for college and exam results, notwithstanding their low income as they are still on the apprentice scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23486/14]

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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The Annual Student Contribution is levied on apprentices and students attending Institutes of Technology. This contribution has been levied by Institutes of Technology in respect of apprentices since 2004, with FÁS/SOLAS paying 70% of the contribution and apprentices themselves paying the remainder. As part of Budget 2014, SOLAS will cease making this payment to the Institutes of Technology and apprentices themselves will pay the full pro rata Annual Student Contribution.

From January 2014 up to the end of the academic year in June, apprentices will be due to pay €833 (1/3 of €2,500) per typical attendance block of 10 weeks. The exam fee is included in this payment. Apprentices will pay the same contribution as students, apportioned for the time they spend in the Institutes. Apprentices are paid a training allowances by SOLAS for phases of their training spent in Institutes of Technology. This allowance is equivalent to the wages they receive from their employers for on the job phases and is unaffected by the budgetary changes.