Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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As part of Budget 2024 the Government has approved a once off reduction of €1,000 in the student contribution payable by full time undergraduate students eligible for free tuition fees under the Free Fees Initiative (FFI) in academic year 2023/24. Through the FFI, the State has assumed responsibility for compensating institutions for the income previously generated by student tuition fees payable by FFI eligible students exclusive of the student contribution. FFI eligibility is restricted to full-time undergraduate courses in public higher education institutions, as well as a limited number of designated courses in private not for profit institutions, such as the institute to which the Deputy refers.

The institute in question has two primary teacher courses which are eligible for free fees funding; the Bachelor in Education (Primary) and Bachelor in Education (Primary through the medium of Irish) are funded by the Department of Education. I have been advised that the Department of Education has put arrangements in place to ensure that free fees eligible students on those courses will avail of the student contribution reduction.

Independent institutions operating in the private sector, like the one to which the Deputy refers, can establish courses which operate outside of the Free Fees Initiative. Where such a course is established, the tuition fee payable is entirely a matter for the college as an autonomous institution. The Budget 2024 measure to reduce the student contribution by €1,000 does not apply to such courses. However, it is open to the institution in question, as a private autonomous institute, to apply a similar fee reduction, if it so chooses.

I am conscious that not all students are eligible for free fees. Therefore, as part of the cost-of-living measures announced in Budget 2024, I secured additional funding of €8.1 million for the Student Assistance Fund for the current academic year 2023/24. Students experiencing exceptional financial difficulty can apply for support under the Student Assistance Fund, including students attending the institution to which the Deputy refers. This Fund assists students in a sensitive and compassionate manner, who might otherwise be unable to continue their third level studies due to their financial circumstances.