Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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129. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated full year cost of measures (details supplied). [25850/20]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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The information requested by the Deputy in relation to full year cost of measure is set out in the table below.

Abolishing student fees for all EU post graduate students

The Department does not operate a free tuition fee scheme for postgraduate study and the tuition fees payable are a matter for the relevant Higher Education Institution to determine.

The cost to the State associated with the establishment of a scheme to provide for postgraduate tuition fees would be dependent on varying factors including the type of study (full-time or part-time), varying fees associated with different course types, eligibility requirements for students should such a scheme be set up and the overall level of places to be supported with any free tuition fees. In the absence of established parameters for eligibility under an equivalent post graduate scheme to the undergraduate free fees initiative, baseline student numbers and the tuition fee costs of such a cohort of students it is not possible to accurately estimate the potential costs of such a scheme.

As the deputy will be aware the Programme for Government commits to develop a long-term sustainable funding model for higher level education. The Minister has previously set out an intention to specifically examine student supports to ensure all students have access to educational opportunities and supports that will help them to fulfil their potential. Furthermore, a comprehensive economic evaluation of the funding options presented in the Report of the Expert Group on Future Funding for Higher Education is underway supported under the European Commission DG Reform Programme.

Restoring student grants to pre-2008 levels

It is not possible to definitively calculate the cost of the various adjustments that have been made to the student support system since 2008, particularly in light of the demographic changes that have taken place.

To put it in context, in 2008/09 there were 57,261 students who benefitted from grant support at a cost of €264m, whereas in 2018/19 there were over 74,000 students in receipt of grant support at a cost of circa €347m.

It is estimated, however that it would cost in excess of €100m to reverse all of the adjustments that have been made to the student grant scheme since 2008.

Restoring support for guidance to pre-2008 levels

Measures announced by my Department as part of Budgets 2016, 2017 and 2018 mean that 500 of the 600 guidance posts that were withdrawn during the financial crises were restored to schools from September 2018.

This allocation is provided separately and transparently on each school's staffing schedule. These posts have been ring-fenced so they can only be used for guidance activities and to meet the guidance needs of the school.

The Department has committed considerable resources towards the restoration of guidance counselling hours to post-primary schools, to the provision of CPD for guidance counsellors and to the provision of a national guidance counselling supervision service for post-primary guidance counsellors.

As part of the COVID-19 operational supports to schools for the 2020/21 school year, approximately 120 posts have been provided for guidance to support student wellbeing. These posts bring guidance provision in schools back to the level last seen before the financial crisis and any posts that were withdrawn have now been fully restored.