Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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162. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will confirm that the student contribution charge will not rise above €3,000 after 2015. [36112/14]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The decision to increase the Student Contribution, which stands at €2,750 for the current academic year, to €3,000 by 2015/16 has already been signalled by the previous Minister. The Deputy will appreciate that in line with normal practice I am unable to comment on the budgetary process.

It should be noted that some 50% of students who qualify for free fees have the Student Contribution paid on their behalf by the Exchequer under my Department's Student Grant Scheme.

An Expert Working Group chaired by Peter Cassells is currently preparing a Report on future funding policy for higher education. 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.