Michael Murphy (Tipperary South, Fine Gael)
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2717. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the rationale for the recent changes to the Research Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Programme which prevent second-year PhD students, who were unsuccessful in their first application, from reapplying; if he will consider transitional arrangements to allow current students who had a legitimate expectation of reapplying to do so; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45840/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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The Government of Ireland Postgraduate Scholarship Programme (GOIP) is unique in the Irish research landscape and complements other channels for funded postgraduate education in the Irish ecosystem. Its objective is to provide individual, prestigious awards for excellent research in the name of the applicant and inclusive of all disciplines. The programme drives bottom-up, researcher-driven scholarship.

Funded by my Department and administered by Taighde Éireann - Research Ireland, the number of applications received to the Programme has increased annually from 1,142 in 2020 to 1,620 in 2025 with an overall success rate of 14.5%. Eligible applications may be made from early-career researchers who are based anywhere in the world at the time of application.

Research Ireland has increased the number of awards made from 210 in 2024, to 237 in 2025, broadly split between STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) and AHSS (Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences).

Rationale for Changing the Eligibility Rules

The GOIP funding call runs annually and, as part of this process, the eligibility criteria are also reviewed annually.

Changes to the 2026 call have been introduced primarily to enhance funding support available to awardees by increasing award duration to a minimum of three years and, in the majority of cases, to award full funding. This provides greater certainty for applicants and research bodies; is in line with international best practice and should also see improved success rates. Research Ireland does not currently plan to reduce overall the level of funding or awards supported for the 2026 programme.

Transitional arrangement

To better align with international best practice, a full funding model for awards under the GOIP has been adopted, focusing awards on new entrants. This is designed to maximise the impact of the funding in supporting new funded postgraduate researchers entering the research system.

In proposing the change, Taighde Éireann - Research Ireland engaged with stakeholders from the research system, and based on that engagement, amended the programme’s eligibility criteria to include applicants in the first year of their degree. This achieves an appropriate balance between the scope of the criteria and further evolving the scheme in support of its objectives.

Recent programme data has shown a low and broadly declining proportion of reapplications to the scheme from registered postgraduate students (11% for 2025 call).

Research Ireland’s Enterprise Partnership Scheme (EPS) postgraduate programme continues to provide opportunities for existing registered PhD students to apply for funding, the annual value of the award being on a par with the GOI postgraduate stream. Research Ireland expects to open a new EPS postgraduate call in late 2025 or early 2026.

Colm Burke (Cork North-Central, Fine Gael)
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2718. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to consider increasing to 60 credits the maximum credits that a part-time student at undergraduate level can study in a single academic year in order to be eligible to receive a SUSI grant, given that the maximum amount of credits that a student can study in a single academic year and be in receipt of a SUSI grant while studying part time is 50 credits, as this is inhibiting those with financial issues to complete their academic studies in a timelier manner whilst studying part-time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45915/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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The Student Part-Time Fee Scheme covers the fees of eligible part-time students attending specified undergraduate courses leading to a major award with a minimum average of 30 credits and maximum of 50 credits per academic year.

The scheme was developed to provide support for more flexible forms of learning to students attending specified undergraduate courses who are considered underrepresented in Higher Education, in particular students who are socio-economically disadvantaged, who may not be in a position to participate in full-time programmes.

My Department consulted with the Irish University Association and The Technological Higher Education Association (now the Technological Universities Association), as well as a number of Higher Education Institutions, to consider the scope of part-time courses that were in existence during the planning phase of this pilot. It was discovered that a standardised definition of “part-time” study did not exist.

As such, for the purpose of this scheme, eligible part-time courses must:

• Be undergraduate programmes that lead to an award of a higher certificate, ordinary degree, or honours degree (QQI level 6, 7 or 8). Higher Diplomas and other postgraduate awards are not eligible as there is no provision in the Student Support Act 2011 which allows these to be approved.
• Be defined in terms of European Credit Transfers (ECTs). Programmes must require the student to take an average of a minimum of 30 ECTS per academic year over the period of the course and a maximum of 50 ECTS per academic year. This ensures that the workload of part-time programmes is less than the standard for full-time undergraduate programmes, which is 60 ECTS per academic year.
• Be fully in-person or hybrid (part in-person, part online). Hybrid programmes need to have an element of meaningful attendance beyond attendance for the purposes of registration or enrolment or any examination. Programmes which are fully online are not eligible.