Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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166. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the payment of bench fees to third level education institutions; if a person that wishes to pay their own bench fee may do so in conjunction with their regular fees payable at the non-European Union student rate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40672/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The position is that higher education institutions are autonomous bodies and, therefore, are responsible for the determination of the level of fees payable by students who are not eligible for free fees under my Department’s Free Fees Scheme, as well as the method of payment of those fees.

The criteria governing the level of tuition fees to be charged in cases where students are enrolling as non-EU students is also a matter for the relevant institution to determine in line with its own criteria.

Accordingly, my Department has no function in relation to such matters and the matter should be addressed at institutional level.