Written answers

Tuesday, 5 October 2021

Department of Education and Skills

Third Level Costs

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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499. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the terms on which post-graduate study can receive support towards fees and maintenance; and if there are plans to extend these schemes. [47532/21]

Photo of Niall CollinsNiall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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The main support available to assist postgraduate students with the cost of attending higher education is the Student Grant Scheme. In line with the Programme for Government commitment to address the gap in postgraduate grants, from September 2021 the postgraduate fee grant increased from €2,000 to €3,500. This increase will allay some of the costs for postgraduate study and will give greater certainty for students in terms of supports. In addition, the fee grant income threshold increased from €31,500 to €54,240 from September 2021.

Postgraduate students who meet all of the qualifying conditions for the special rate of grant under the Student Grant Scheme are eligible for a maintenance grant of up to €5,915; the income threshold for this grant for the 2021/22 academic year is €24,500. Qualifying postgraduate students may also be eligible to have their tuition fees paid up to a maximum fee limit of €6,270.

Under the Student Grant Scheme 2020, a student in receipt of a postgraduate research award where the stipend portion of the award did not exceed €16,000 could apply to the centralised student grant awarding authority SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland) for financial assistance. The stipend portion to be disregarded increased to €18,500 under the Student Grant Scheme 2021.

The Deputy will be aware that the Programme for Government contains a commitment to review SUSI eligibility criteria, adjacency rates and postgraduate grant supports. To take forward this commitment I established a review of the Student Grant Scheme. This review is currently underway, and being conducted by Indecon Economic Consultants, under the direction of a steering group chaired by my Department and comprising a number of stakeholders.

It is anticipated that the review will be completed later this year and will inform future priorities regarding the development of student grant policy, including in the context of forthcoming Estimates process for 2022.

Apart from the Student Grant Scheme, in July 2020 I announced a funding package of €168m for the return to education which included a €10m access support package for higher education students. I approved the allocation of €8.1m of this funding to top up the Student Assistance Fund (SAF). The SAF assists students in a sensitive and compassionate manner who might otherwise be unable to continue their third level studies due to their financial circumstances. Institutions have the autonomy to maximise the flexibility in the Student Assistance Fund to enable HEIs to support students during the COVID-19 situation. Details of this fund are available from the Access Office in the third level institution attended. This fund is administered on a confidential, discretionary basis.

I also announced enhanced funding of €3.2 million for the Irish Research Council to better support postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers in Ireland across all disciplines. This will directly benefit close to 1,300 early-career researchers across our higher education and research system. The additional investment will fulfil the long-standing priority attached by the Council to improving the support for its funded postgraduate and postdoctoral researchers at the earliest opportunity. The Irish Research Council’s postgraduate stipend will increase from €16,000 to €18,500 per annum and funding for its postdoctoral researchers is also increasing. The changes will benefit both existing and new Council awardees in 2021, effective from the beginning of January.

Tax relief at the standard rate of tax may be claimed in respect of tuition fees paid for approved courses at approved colleges of higher education including approved undergraduate and postgraduate courses in EU Member States and in non-EU countries. Further information on this tax relief is available from a student's local Tax office or from the Revenue Commissioners website, www.revenue.ie.

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