Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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80. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on whether it makes sense to maintain financial or other barriers to accessing all levels of further and higher education and that all such barriers should be removed including the leaving certificate given the significant skills shortages in a range of areas such as health, mental health, construction, education and others; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12873/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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My objective as Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, is to ensure that there is access into either further or higher education for each person who wishes to pursue educational options at third-level. Access to higher education in Ireland is very open by international standards, with our population of 25-34 year-olds having the highest level of higher education qualifications in Europe.

While I aim to ensure that learners are given the opportunity to access the courses that interest them, there are real, material limits on the number of students that can be accommodated in some courses. In particular, courses with significant practical or laboratory elements, courses which require work placements and courses which must satisfy specific requirements from professional bodies all face specific challenges when it comes to any increase in intake.  Expansion of higher education must also take into account issues around sufficient classroom space and the staff to student ratio, as well as the importance of maintaining a balance within third level between further education, higher education and apprenticeship.

In light of the limits on the number of places, admissions criteria are necessary. Many students currently enter on the basis of CAO points calculated based on the Leaving Certificate or other post-primary qualifications. However there are a range of other pathways into higher education such as mature entry, further to higher education pathways, and access programmes. Admissions criteria for higher education are determined by the higher education institutions, in line with their autonomy.

It is important to emphasise that while the Leaving Certificate is used by some students as the basis of a CAO application, it is not an entrance examination for higher education. The primary function of the Leaving Certificate is as the terminal exam of post-primary education, and it can be used to pursue other options such as training, apprenticeships and employment.

There is a diverse range of pathways in further and higher education that meet both individual and wider educational and skills needs.  In my role as Minister for Further and Higher Education, it has, therefore, been a priority for me to highlight and communicate the need for a balanced tertiary education system.  To progress this key goal, from this year, school leavers will be able to explore options across the third level system, whether in higher education, further education or apprenticeship options, from the CAO website.  

My Department already contributes significantly towards the fees for undergraduate degrees. Under my Department’s free fees schemes, the Exchequer provides funding toward the tuition fee costs of eligible undergraduate higher education students. All students eligible for the scheme receive state support whereby the Exchequer pays the cost of tuition fees exclusive of the student contribution (€3,000). The Exchequer pays the student contribution (in full or part) on behalf of students who qualify under the student grant scheme for approximately 45% of Free Fee Eligible students. The fee payable by a student can vary depending on a variety factors including the type of course and the student's access route including previous education.

Where students do not qualify for free fees funding, they must pay the appropriate fee as determined by each higher education institution.

I am highly conscious of the challenges posed by the increased cost of living. As part of Budget 2022, I have secured an additional €15m to enhance the existing financial supports under the Student Grant Scheme for implementation in 2022. This will mean:

- An increase to all student grant maintenance payments, including the special rate of grant, of €200 per year which will benefit allstudents entitled to receive a maintenance Grant. There are currently circa 62,000 SUSI grant recipients receiving maintenance support.

- The income threshold to qualify for the standard rate of student grant has been increased by €1,000.

- The qualifying distance criterion for students to qualify for the non-adjacent rate of grant has been reduced from 45km to 30km, effective from the start of the 2022/23 academic year.