Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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107. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the details of his plans to support and subsidise further education students to ensure that poverty does not deter them from continuing their education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12874/22]

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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Further Education and Training (FET) provision is largely free or heavily subsidised and the announcement in Budget 2022 of the removal of the €200 PLC levy, which was introduced in 2011, with effect from the next academic year is particularly welcome.The other improvements announced in Budget 2022 for student grants, including PLC student grants, for the next academic year include:

- an increase to all student grant maintenance payments, including the special rate of grant, of €200 per year which will benefit all students entitled to receive a maintenance Grant;

- an increase in the income threshold to qualify for the standard rate of student grant of €1,000; and

- a reduction in the qualifying distance criterion for students to qualify for the non-adjacent rate of grant from 45km to 30km.

Taken together these measures will benefit thousands of PLC students in the further education sector.

Other full-time FET learners receive learner allowances which are equivalent to their underlying social welfare entitlements or may continue to receive their social welfare payment directly from the Department of Social Protection.The FET Strategy for 2020-24 Future FET: Transforming Learningproposes consistent learner support across all FET provision while recognising that the realisation of a common cross-FET student financial support system requires wider welfare and cross-Government, cross-Departmental reform to resolve.  

The scope of the Indecon Review of the Student Grant Scheme included the current supports available to FET learners and the costs of attending further education.  This Review will help shape decision-making on how we support students over the years to come and my intention to bring the report to Cabinet alongside the Future Funding Model report has been flagged previously.

Additionally, the Mitigating Against Educational Disadvantage Fund (MAEDF), which is managed by SOLAS, has provided funding to support the participation of educationally disadvantaged learners in FET. The Fund places a strong focus on community education as a mechanism to continue to support and engage with disadvantaged learners.  It also focuses on building the digital infrastructure of providers, including providing devices and software, and increasing their capacity to deliver online learning/blended learning to meet the needs of learners.  The projects funded varied from projects to help support online learning, connect communities and providing social supports to the most disadvantaged.  Some €12.63m was approved in awards under the MAEDF in the last two years.