Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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2509. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the details of all services, grants, loans and payments available to individuals or households funded by his Department and agencies under his remit; the eligibility requirements and any conditionality for receiving the service, grant, loan or payment (details supplied); and the monetary value, or range of values, of the service, grant, loans or payment, where applicable. [19174/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy should note that no loans are funded by my Department or agencies under my remit to individuals or households. The following is an outline of some services and grants funded by the Department or agencies under my remit:-

Student Grant Scheme

The Scheme provides grant assistance to students attending an approved course in an approved institution who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those relating to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means.

The decision on eligibility for student grant applications is a matter for the centralised grant awarding authority, SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland). Student grants are available for students looking to study at PLC, undergraduate and postgraduate levels.

Student grants are divided into maintenance grants and fee grants:

• Maintenance grants help students with their living costs and are paid directly to the student’s bank account.
• Fee grants pay tuition fees for students who do not qualify for the Free Fees Scheme. Fee grants can also pay the Student Contribution and the cost of essential field trips.

Student Part-Time Fee Scheme and Regulations for Specified Undergraduate Courses

This Scheme was introduced for the first time in September 2024 to provide fee support to eligible part-time students attending specified publicly funded undergraduate courses leading to a major award. The aim of the Scheme is to provide additional flexibility in respect of course provision to students who are socio-economically disadvantaged.

A measure such as this Scheme, which is aimed at supporting socially-economically disadvantaged students, will have an impact on cohorts such as low-income families, lone parents, teen parents, widows, members of the Traveller and Roma communities, persons with disabilities and carers. This new initiative has opened access to higher education to many underrepresented groups who cannot participate in full-time programmes. In 2024 there were 62 eligible courses which has risen to 111 eligible courses for the 2025/26 academic year.

The applicable income thresholds for the Student Part-Time Fee Scheme are outlined in Appendix A.

International Protection Student Scheme (for FE/HE Students)

The International Protection Student Scheme (for FE/HE Students) 2024/2025 provides financial grants for students who have been continuously resident in the State for a continuous period of 3 years or more and is a protection applicant or a person at leave to remain stage for a continuous period of 3 years or more as at the day before the date of commencement of the course and who has not had a deportation order issued against them.

Further information on eligibility criteria can be found here www.gov.ie/en/department-of-further-and-higher-education-research-innovation-and-science/services/international-protection-student-scheme-for-fehe-students-20242025/

PLC Bursary for Displaced Persons (Ukraine) Scheme

This scheme is designed to provide financial help to people who want to study a Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) course and:

• Are living in Ireland;
• Have been granted temporary protection (under section 60 of the International Protection Act 2015).

Further information on eligibility criteria can be found here www.gov.ie/en/department-of-further-and-higher-education-research-innovation-and-science/services/plc-bursary-for-displaced-persons-ukraine-scheme-2024/.

Free Fees Initiative

Students eligible for the Free Fees Initiative have their tuition fees paid by the State, exclusive of the student contribution. This universal scheme is paid as a grant on behalf of students without any means testing. Students pay a student contribution of €3,000 per academic year. However, the State pays this contribution, fully or partially, for a significant number of students who qualify for SUSI grant support.

Further Education and Training (FET) Courses

All information relating to supports available to further education and training students is available at the following link www.citizensinformation.ie/en/education/further-education-and-training/training-courses/.

Apprenticeships

Targeted financial supports of up to €3,000 per applicant are offered to apprentices through the Access to Apprenticeship Initiative which supports socio-economically disadvantaged young people into an apprenticeship scheme. Also, the Traveller Apprenticeship Incentivisation Programme to the value of €3,000 per year per apprentice.

A bursary of €2,666 per apprentice is available to businesses who employ apprentices from the minority gender on programmes which have greater than 80% representation of either women or men.

Other Supports

Students should contact the Access Office of the institution they attend to consider what additional supports may be available to them such as the Student Assistance Fund which can help discharge costs such as rent, transport and course materials. The HEA website www.studentfinance.ie also provides comprehensive details of supports which are available to students.

Student Assistance Fund (SAF)

The SAF is a fund that is available to students both full-time or part-time who experience exceptional financial need. This fund is administered on a confidential, discretionary basis. The access officers of each institution work with students to see how they can be supported financially through the Student Assistance Fund in meeting the costs associated with day-to-day participation in higher education. More details are available on www.studentfinance.ie.

Student Accommodation Assistance

The Department is committed to addressing the supply of affordable student accommodation for priority group students, in line with policy commitments set out in the National Access Plan (NAP). The NAP aims to support inclusion and diversity in the student body, address the wider struggles and challenges for students, and deliver sustainable progress. It recognises the needs of vulnerable learners, the most marginalised and those with special and additional needs including students from the Traveller and Roma Communities and care experienced students.

For the 2024/2025 academic year, the Student Assistance Fund (SAF) included an additional and specific ringfenced allocation funded by the Dormant Account Fund, to assist students from Traveller and Roma backgrounds and those with experience of the care system with the cost of accommodation, when living independently while attending third level education. The aim is to alleviate the cost of accommodation as a barrier to accessing and progressing through higher education.

Support up to a maximum of €6,000 per student for the 2024/2025 academic year was available. To be eligible for this assistance students must be a member of one or more of the following groups:

• Traveller Community
• Roma Community
• Have experience of the care system between the ages of 16-18 and are not eligible for an aftercare allowance.

Fund for Students with Disabilities (FSD)

The purpose of the FSD is to provide funding to higher and further education institutions to assist them in offering supports and services to eligible students on both full-time and part-time courses with disabilities so that they can participate on an equal basis with their peers.

Eligible students can receive assistance from the FSD up to doctoral level 10, and it can be applied for during any year of study. On completion of the needs assessment, disability support sta determine the appropriate supports required by students and FSD funding may be used to provide these supports. More details are available on www.studentfinance.ie.

PATH 2

The 1916 Bursary Fund is to encourage participation and success in higher education by students who are the most socioeconomically disadvantaged and who are from communities significantly under-represented in the student body. It comprises of a 3 Tier system. Tier 1 (€5,000) and Tier 2 (€2,000) bursaries will be payable to students as they progress through undergraduate studies and on to postgraduate study. Tier 3 is a once-off bursaries of €1,500 paid to new entrants in their first year only, who met the criteria for the 1916 Bursary but who did not ultimately qualify on the cluster’s order of merit for a Tier 1 or Tier 2 bursary. More details are available on www.studentfinance.ie.

HEAR & DARE

The Higher Education Access Route (HEAR) is a college and university admissions scheme which offers places (for U23s) on reduced points and extra college support to school leavers from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

The Disability Access Route to Education (DARE) is a college and university admissions scheme (for U23s) which offers places on a reduced points basis to school leavers with disabilities.

Both schemes are operated by the Irish Universities Association (IUA) on behalf of the higher education institutions who set the policy criteria for the scheme.

Applications to the scheme are submitted to the Central Applications Office (CAO) who coordinate the scheme for participating institutions.

A review and appeals process is in operation through the CAO application system.

My Department has no involvement in the scheme.

Further information on the schemes are available on www.iua.ie.

Appendix A:

Maintenance grants and student contribution grants

Postgraduate Fee Contribution & Part Time Fee Contribution

Albert Dolan (Galway East, Fianna Fail)
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2510. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if funding will be provided to the ETBs for the current financial year; whether each ETB has been issued with a confirmed budget or is currently operating under a provisional or indicative allocation; the date each ETB was notified of its allocation, and whether these allocations carry full budgetary authority. [19216/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Deputy for his question.

As the Deputy may be aware, SOLAS is the statutory agency with responsibility for the strategic co-ordination and funding of the Further Education and Training (FET) sector under the Further Education and Training Act, 2013. In 2025, my Department allocated over €1.1 billion in current expenditure to SOLAS which is an increase from circa €909 million in 2020. SOLAS allocates the bulk of this funding to the 16 Education and Training Boards (ETB) to deliver FET programmes and services at local level, based on agreed learner numbers and programmes.

SOLAS has advised my officials that it issued the allocation letters, which confirmed 2025 funding, to the Education and Training Boards (ETBs) on 16 April following formal approval by the SOLAS Board, with one ETB receiving an indicative funding allocation, pending clarification of its 2024 out turn.

In addition, SOLAS advised that advance funding of over €337 million for FET operations has been distributed to ETBs since the start of the year. Whilst SOLAS agrees the funding allocations across the FET sector, ETBs work on the basis of their 2024 budget allocation until they receive the formal allocation letter which is in line with the approach in previous years.