Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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474. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his Department will examine the situation of students in circumstances (details supplied) and admit them to the relief scheme of €1,000. [61969/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Under my Department's Free Fees Initiative, the State pays tuition fees, exclusive of the student contribution, on behalf of eligible students attending approved full-time undergraduate courses.

In order to qualify for funding under the Department’s Free Fees Initiative, students must meet the criteria of the scheme including the repeat period of study and previous qualification attainment criteria.

A key principle of the design of the free fees initiative is to encourage progression, that is, to support students in progressing through a chosen course of study from year to year. As a result students who previously undertook and successfully completed a level 6 course and seek to undertake a new undergraduate course of study at a higher level are not typically eligible for free fees for the equivalent period of time on their first course.

The assessment of eligibility under the Free Fees Initiative in individual cases is a matter for each institution to determine within the terms of the scheme and it is not possible for my Department to advise on the determinations made by individual institutions.

Where students do not qualify for the Department’s free fees schemes, an appropriate repeat or tuition fee may be determined by each higher education institution as autonomous bodies.

The Deputy may wish to note that I have allocated over €17 million in funding for the Student Assistance Fund for the current academic year. This Fund provides financial support to full and part-time students who are experiencing financial difficulties while attending college and can provide assistance towards their rent, childcare costs, transport costs and books/class materials. Students with a previous higher education qualification at the same NFQ level, or who, in the past, attended higher education without ultimately obtaining a qualification, may be considered for support on a case-by-case basis and subject to available funding. Applications can be made to this Fund through the Access Office in a student’s higher education institution.