Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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1219. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will review the situation for returning Irish emigrants who have to pay full fees for college courses because they have been out of the country for too long; if the term limit will be increased or scrapped, given that the returning emigrants have been forced to emigrate in many cases due to the failings of the State in the first place; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30825/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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As the Deputy will be aware, in order to qualify for tuition fee funding, students must be first-time undergraduates, hold inter aliaEU/EEA/Swiss nationality in their own right, and have been ordinarily resident in an EU/EEA/Swiss state for at least three of the five years preceding their entry to an approved third level course. Where students do not qualify for free fees funding they must pay the appropriate fee - either EU or Non-EU, as determined by each higher education institution. These institutions are autonomous bodies and the level of fee payable by students who do not meet the requirements of the free fees scheme is a matter for the relevant institution.

Due to concerns in relation to the fact that in some cases the higher non-EU fee was being charged to students who held EU/EEA/Swiss nationality but did not meet the residency clause for free fees, the Department requested higher education institutions to charge the more moderate EU fee to such students who have completed at least five academic years of study (primary or post-primary level) in Ireland/EU/EEA/Switzerland and commence their first undergraduate course of study in an approved institution here. This position took effect from the previous academic year, 2014/15. There are no plans to further amend this provision.