Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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429. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost of continuing the €1000 reduction in the student contribution fee for undergraduates for the 2025-26 academic year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8775/25]

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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430. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost of reducing the student contribution fee to €1,000 for undergraduate students for the 2025-26 academic year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8776/25]

Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity)
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431. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost of abolishing the student contribution fee for undergraduate students for the 2025-26 academic year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8777/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 429 to 431, inclusive, together.

The Deputy will be aware that the Annual Options Paper on Reducing the Cost of Education, as published last September (www.gov.ie/en/publication/db3c6-funding-the-future-an-annual-options-paper-on-the-cost-of-higher-education-2024/), estimated costs of various options to reduce the cost of attending tertiary education, including options to reduce the student contribution paid by students eligible for the Free Fees Initiative.

The Options Paper estimated the cost of removing the student contribution at circa €289m; this is the estimated net cost after allowing for savings that would accrue on the SUSI grant scheme if the student contribution was abolished. The paper also includes the costs of various options to reduce the student contribution by amounts ranging from €100 up to its full removal. A reduction of €1,000 had an estimated cost of circa €99 million whereas a reduction of €2,000 was estimated to cost €198m.

The actual cost of temporary or permanent changes in future academic years may vary depending on movements in free fees eligible student numbers and SUSI grant holders.