Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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933. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for details on the revenue generated by third level fees, from 2020 to date in 2025, correlated and broken down by year, in tabular form. [26023/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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Higher Education Institutions are autonomous institutions responsible for their own academic affairs including the development of relevant curriculum, setting tuition fee rates, and student numbers on individual courses.

The fee payable by a student can vary depending on a variety of factors including the type of course and the student's access route. The assessment of a student’s application and the determination of the appropriate fee rate is a function of the institution attended.

Fee income forms part of the overall income generated by each higher education institution. Income sources can include state grants, research grants and contracts, EU funding, investment income, donations and endowments, and other income such as library, catering etc.

My Department does not compile information on the tuition fee income generated in the higher education sector. As such, the information that the Deputy has requested in not available. However, details of the various types of income generated by publicly funded higher education institutions are set out in their annual Financial Statements which are available to view on each institution’s website.

Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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934. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for the estimated full-year cost of reducing contribution fees by €1,500 in year one, by €1,500 in year two, with an overall reduction of €3,000 over two years, by year, in tabular form. [26024/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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The potential cost of making adjustments to the student contribution under the Free Fees Initiative may vary from year to year, depending on the number of eligible students attending higher education and the number of students availing of student contribution supports from SUSI.

My Department published an Options Paper in 2024 where the cost of reducing the student contribution by €1,500 was estimated at €148.6m per annum and the cost of reducing the student contribution by €3,000 was estimated at €288.9m.

This is the net additional cost to the State after allowing for savings that would accrue on the SUSI grant scheme which pays some or all of the student contribution for over 66,000 students.

The Deputy may be interested in reviewing last year’s Options Paper which is available on line at: assets.gov.ie/static/documents/funding-the-future-an-annual-options-paper-on-the-cost-of-higher-education-2024.pdf

Ahead of Budget 2026, I intend to publish the 2025 Options Paper. This will identify costs and potential impacts of various policy options aimed at reducing the cost of higher education. This will inform decisions ahead of Budget 2026.

Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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935. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for the estimated full cost of extending the 'fund for students ' with a disability (FSD) across all further education and training FET courses, over two years, by year in tabular form. [26025/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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Within the Further Education and Training (FET) sector, SOLAS manages the Fund for Students with Disabilities (FSD) which supports eligible students on Post-Leaving Certificate (PLC) courses so that they can participate on an equal basis with their peers. Based on the 2024/2025 academic year, approximately 6% of PLC learners have availed of FSD supports.

SOLAS have advised my officials that it is not possible to forecast who will require supports until the learners start the course. Therefore, it is not possible to provide the estimate requested by the Deputy.

Consequently, an accurate estimate of extending FSD across all FET courses, over two years, cannot be provided.

Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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936. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for the estimated full cost of extending SUSI to postgraduate fees for qualifying students over two years, by year, in tabular form. [26026/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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The decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter, in the first instance, for the awarding authority, SUSI to determine.

Postgraduate students who meet all the conditions of the Student Grant Scheme may become eligible for the following supports:

• A student Maintenance grant which was restored in September 2024 for the first time since the financial crash with a pro-rata effect from January 2024. The annual rates and the income thresholds for maintenance grants are the same for undergraduate and postgraduate students.
• A postgraduate fee contribution of €4,000 or a postgraduate fee grant, up to a maximum of €6,270 towards the cost of fees is available. This is dependent on the level of a student's reckonable income and meeting all other eligibility criteria. To be eligible for the fee contribution grant of up to €4,000 plus a maintenance grant, the total household income must be within the www.susi.ie/eligibility-criteria/income/postgraduate-income-thresholds-and-grant-award-rates/#d.en.14684