Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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902. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to reduce the cost of college registration fees here in the context of the cost in Northern Ireland; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41594/14]

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. 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.