Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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214. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the exact distribution of increased third level funding announced in the recent budget. [40039/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Funding of the Higher Education Sector is a key concern for me particularly in light of the additional pressure that will fall on the system over the next decade or so. In seeking to address the issue in the short term, I have as part of Budget 2017 secured additional funding of 36.5m for the first time in nine years for the sector.

As announced on Budget Day, this will include over 3000 students from disadvantaged groups will benefit from an additional package of €8.5million to support more disadvantaged students, including lone parents and Travellers, to attend higher level. This includes the introduction of full maintenance grant (worth almost €6000) from September 2017 for 1100 postgraduate students in the lowest income category. New targeted initiatives to provide skills, and additional flexible learning places.

Funding to commence a New Frontiers Research Programme and a new initiative to attract world-leading researchers in the context of Brexit for the first time in recent years, specific additional funding is being allocated for 2017, 2018 and 2019 to cover the impact of increasing enrolments. Funding for 2017 will support 179,000 full-time enrolments, provision for expansion in apprenticeship, provision to implement the new International Education Strategy and increase the value of the sector by €500million per year and attract 37,000 additional students by 2020.

In addition, in Budget 2017 the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform and I, announced a policy review with the aim of designing and implementing a sustainable and predictable multi-annual funding model for higher and further education and training involving increased Employer and Exchequer contributions from 2018. The review will be undertaken as part of the overall response to meeting the anticipated skills needs in the economy over the coming years, in line with the policy framework set out in the National Skills Strategy.

It will include an analysis of the business case for enhanced investment in the higher and further education and training sectors. In this context it will identify key elements of the new funding model and of the expected impacts including those on employers. The review will include consultation with stakeholders. The policy review will be published by the end of April 2017, and will complement the ongoing work by the Oireachtas Committee in relation to the Cassells report.