Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I recognise that third level education can be a significant cost for families and students. Under the Student Grant Scheme, "holiday earnings" is income that a student has earned outside of term time in the previous tax year, can be deducted from the total income assessed, up to a maximum level.

For students in the current academic year the maximum level that can be deducted has increased from €4,500 to €6,552.

It is important to say that the rationale for the policy approach of focusing on earnings outside of term time is to mitigate against students working so much during their third level education that it negatively impacts on their ability to fully participate in their course. This issue was highlighted most recently by the independent review of the Student Grant Scheme, which outlined that while there are many benefits to students engaging in some forms of employment, it is also important to recognise that working excessive hours can negatively impact a student's education experience and may result in them dropping out.

My Department has recently published an annual options paper on the cost of higher education which has explored the option of removing the provision which limits the deduction of holiday earnings outside of term time.