Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris said he is seeking a cut to the €3,000 student contribution fee and to make improvements to college grants in next week’s budget.
He was speaking at the opening of The Irish Times Higher Options event in Dublin’s RDS on Wednesday, which is Ireland’s largest education expo for second-level students.
Mr Harris said the Government was acutely aware that students and their families are facing a cost-of-living crisis and a number of options were on the table which, if implemented, could be applied immediately after being announced next Tuesday, September 27th.
One option under examination is a reduction in the €3,000 student contribution which, if approved, would apply to the current academic year.
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Another option is an improvement in Susi (Student Universal Support Ireland) grants, which are provided to more than 40 per cent of students in higher education.
Mr Harris said no decisions have been made and his department remains in discussion with the Department of Public Expenditure.
However, he confirmed there will be two elements to next week’s budget: the normal estimates process for 2023, and more immediate cost-of-living measures.
“Supporting students and their families has to be a part of both,” he said.
He said last May the Government approved his policy proposal to reduce the cost of education for students and increase funding for higher education.
“I will be seeking to advance this policy in the budget,” he said.
While he would not be drawn on the scale of a potential cut, an options paper published by Mr Harris’s department earlier this month gave estimates on the cost to the State of reducing the fee by €250-€1,000.
If there is a cut, it is understood that any student who has paid the full fee upfront would be refunded by the appropriate amount.
In relation to grants, a variety of options are understood to be on the table such as raising income thresholds to expand the number of students eligible for financial support or increasing the value of payments to existing grant-holders.
If implemented, it is understood that applicants and grant-holders would have their cases reassessed in light of any relevant changes.
The three-day Higher Options event, meanwhile, will continue until Friday and will be attended by thousands of second-level students.
Students are able to attend careers talks and access information on college courses, study options, graduate career outcomes, as well as the full range of further education and training opportunities that are available.
Andrew Brownlee, chief executive of Solas, which oversees the further education and training sector, said there were more further education and apprenticeship pathways available to students than before.
“Our research shows that many of these options, including apprenticeships and traineeships, can prepare learners for in-demand occupations that are emerging and expanding or that recruiters are struggling to fill,” he said.
Mr Brownlee said further education and apprenticeship options are available across areas ranging from carpentry to cybersecurity and gave students the chance to “leave the points race behind and shape their own pathway towards a future career that suits them”.
He was joined at the event by Hannah Dowdall, a 21-year-old student who said she rejected her CAO offer to study primary teaching at university in favour of a post-Leaving Cert course on teaching to “broaden her horizons”. She now hopes to study adult education.
“Instead, I chose to do pre-university teaching at Dunboyne College. This gave me time to explore what type of teaching I wanted to pursue and helped me to reach an informed decision,” she said.
