Mick Barry (Cork North Central, Solidarity)
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552. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a prospective student (details supplied) who is resident in Ireland, and whose deceased stepfather was an Irish citizen, satisfies the nationality condition for eligibility for the "free fees" scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15258/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The assessment of eligibility under the Free Fees Initiative (FFI) in individual cases is a matter for each higher education institution to determine within the terms of the scheme and it is not possible for my Department to advise individual students on eligibility. It is therefore necessary for students to contact the institution attended for guidance on the fees applicable to a course of study appropriate to their own individual circumstances.

Notwithstanding the above, I can advise that, under the Free Fees Initiative, full time undergraduate students may be eligible to have their tuition fees, exclusive of the student contribution, paid on their behalf. In order to qualify for support under the Free Fees Initiative, students must meet the criteria of the scheme including the nationality/citizenship requirements in their own right.

To meet nationality/citizenship requirements, the student must hold inter alia EU/EEA/Swiss/UK nationality or certain permissions to reside in the state as granted through the Department of Justice, for example a person with official refugee status. The immigration residency permissions included under the Free Fees Initiative are those that convey rights upon persons to access education on the same basis as Irish or EU citizens. Additional information on the nationality criteria is available at the following link: hea.ie/funding-governance-performance/funding/student-finance/course-fees/. A stamp 4 permission, in its own right, does not provide for a person to meet the eligibility criteria of the Free Fees Initiative.