Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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899.To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the colleges that are covered by the exemption in fees for the study of medicine in Northern Ireland; how a student qualifies; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24830/24]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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In order to expand medical places in higher education on the island of Ireland an agreement was reached to fund additional places in medicine in Northern Ireland. This was announced by Minister Simon Harris and Minister Stephen Donnelly in February this year.

This agreement will see fifty additional medicine places funded by the Irish Government for qualifying students in Queens University Belfast (QUB), 25 commencing in September 2024 and 25 in September 2025. Queen's, as the only provider of a direct entry medicine programme in Northern Ireland, is the only institution involved.

Under this agreement students who take up one of the places will pay the same student contribution rate as their counterparts studying in medical schools in Ireland. They will also commit to taking up a position in the HSE as an intern on their successful completion of the programme. This scheme is only available to applicants who are deemed to be eligible for the Northern Ireland and Ireland domiciled fee rate for 2024/25 entry and this must be their first programme of study at third level.

It is important to note that all applicants must meet the entry criteria set by Queens University Belfast, and this assessment criteria will be the same for all applicants.

The applications process, admissions criteria and a Q&A document regarding the 25 places in September 2024 is available on the QUB website here:

Additional Medicine places for September 2024 entry | Global Marketing, Recruitment and Admissions | Queen's University Belfast (qub.ac.uk)