Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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161. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to abolish fees for graduate entry to medicine; the actions she will take to ease the financial burden on graduate entry medical students; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42314/14]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Under the Universities Act, 1997, universities are autonomous statutory institutions. They are academically independent and the level of tuition fees charged for their Graduate Entry Medicine (GEM) programmes is a matter for the institutions themselves to determine.

GEM students pursue these programmes as second degree courses and consequently are not eligible for free fees funding or for student grants. However, in order to widen access to GEM programmes, and give assistance towards the financial burden on each student pursuing these programmes, the fees of participating EU students are partly subsidised by the State via the Higher Education Authority.

For the 2014/2015 academic year, this subsidy amounted to €9,500 per annum in respect of each EU student participating in GEM programmes in the State. In addition the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 provides tax relief, at the standard rate, for tuition fees paid in respect of approved courses.