More than half of all third-level students could face an increase in college fees this year as cost-of-living supports are reduced or scrapped.
The €3,000 annual “student contribution” has been lowered to €2,000 for the past three years.
But Minister for Higher Education James Lawless has signalled the €1,000 reduction could be cut this year, meaning an effective increase in fees for many students.
About half of students receive state grants to cover the student contribution completely or in part. The rest, however, will be subject to any effective increases in the charge if the reduction is ended or curtailed.
In the Dáil last week, the Minister stressed the “temporary” nature of the €1,000 reduction, adding that “these measures were in response to particular cost-of-living challenges arising at the time and were not intended to be a permanent solution”.
“It was a temporary reduction. That is the point,” he told TDs.
It is understood that while no decisions have been made and none will be made until the budgetary process gets under way later this year, Mr Lawless is minded to consider an effective increase to the fee and using the money saved to promote access to higher education.
In a statement to The Irish Times, Mr Lawless said the programme for government committed to reducing the student contribution fee “in a financially sustainable way”.
“I am very keen to address the cost-of-education challenges facing students and I am exploring the ways in which that can be achieved, of which subsiding the fee is one, but there are other options also,” he said.
“Other supports may include changes via the Susi [Student Universal Support Ireland third-level grants] system, identifying and addressing anomalies and targeting measures at those most in need. It is possible some combination of measures will be deployed.”
Mr Lawless said he would host a “cost of education” event this week with stakeholders, including students and colleges.
“Following those discussions I will publish an options paper which details costs, including opportunity costs, of the various possible measures to support access to education. Reductions to the student fee will play a part in that process, but there are many other moving parts that we need to consider,” the Fianna Fáil minister said.
The issue is likely to be a flashpoint with Fine Gael. Party leader Simon Harris has introduced the €1,000 reduction during the last government when he was higher education minister. During last year’s general election campaign he pledged to abolish fees.
However, that commitment did not make it into the programme for government. During discussions on the document, there was disagreement between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil on the issue, with the latter declining to commit to abolishing fees over the lifetime of the Government.
Instead, the programme for government commits to continuing to “reduce the student contribution fee over the lifetime of the Government to ease the financial burden on students and families at the start of each academic year, in a financially sustainable manner”.
It is understood the Department of Higher Education considers the starting point for any reduction to be at the €3,000 level, rather than the reduced €2,000 point. A smaller reduction this year would be in line with the Government’s commitments, a source said.
Mr Lawless told the Dáil last week that more than 43,000 students had their full contribution paid for through Susi, more than 7,600 students received 50 per cent off and a further 16,000 students got a €500 reduction.
“This means that 66,600 students in total, or almost half of all students, had the student contribution fee paid in full or in part by the State,” he said.
