Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 June 2023
402. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the extent to which it is possible for all students to reach and avail of third level education; the obstacles, if any, to this achievement; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27004/23]
View answerEquity of Access to Further and Higher Education continues to be a national priority for the Government and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. Inclusion is a key goal in my Department's Statement of Strategy.
The Deputy may be aware that I already instigated improvements to the student grant scheme in Budget 2022. For the academic year 2022/23, I increased the income threshold to qualify for the standard rate of student grant by €1,000 and all maintenance grant holders benefited from a grant increase of €200.
I also announced a range of further measures to enhance the scheme as part of Budget 2023. Some of these cost-of-living measures commenced in 2022.
• As part of the Government's cost of living measures, every SUSI maintenance grant recipient received an additional once-off extra maintenance payment;
• All higher education students who are eligible for the fees initiative benefited from a once off reduction in the Student Contribution rate of €1,000 for the 2022/2023 academic year;
• PhD students funded by the SFI and the IRC benefited from a once off payment of €500 in the current academic year; and
• Post Graduate Students who met the eligibility criteria for a Postgraduate Fee Contribution Grant benefited from a once off increase in this grant of €1,000 from €3,500 to €4,500.
In addition, I increased all maintenance grants effective from January 2023 in order to provide further financial assistance to those students most in need. The special rate and Band 1 rate of maintenance increased by 14% and all other maintenance grant rates increased by 10%.
A further range of improvements to the student grant scheme as announce in Budget 2023 will take effect for the 2023/24 academic year, including:
• An increase in income limit from €55,240 to €62,000 for the 50% student contribution grant;
• A new student contribution grant of €500 for incomes between €62,000 and €100,000;
• An increase the postgraduate fee grant by €500 on 2022 levels from €3,500 to €4,000;
• A reduction in the eligibility for second chance mature students from 5 to 3 years;
• Exclusion of up to €14,000 rental income earned under the Government's Rent-a-Room Relief Scheme from reckonable income;
• An increase in student earnings outside of term time from €4,500 to €6,552; and
• A greater degree of flexibility for students who may have a long term social welfare payment but are falling outside of the special rate (this will allow a small increase on the income threshold for the special rate if a family has 4 or more children and/or has two or more students in college).
The cost of accommodation is a significant pressure on students and families and I have secured Government approval to develop both short and medium term policy responses to activate the supply of affordable student accommodation.
Last week I held our first ever Cost of Education consultation event, to hear directly from students and stakeholders about their priorities. To build on this, I will be publishing a cost of education options paper in the Summer which will set out options for addressing costs. I hope this will stimulate debate on how we can best prioritise our resources to support students in the next Budget.
I have provided €15.9 million through the Higher Education Authority to support student mental health and well-being activities in Irish Higher Education Institutions since 2020. (This includes €900,000 that was made available in 2022 to support Ukrainian students registered in Irish HEIs.)
In January of this year, I announced an additional once off funding of €4.3 million to be allocated to the Student Assistance Fund to assist students with the cost of living. This was in addition to the €8m that was allocated in Budget 2023. This brings the total allocation for the Student Assistance Fund for the 22/23 academic year to over €20 million, which is the highest amount that has ever been provided under this fund.
Regarding access measures for disadvantaged students, the new National Access Plan, a Strategic Action Plan for Equity of Access, Participation and Success 2022-2028 was developed in the context of Programme for Government (PfG) commitments and other social inclusion policy measures. The plan aligns with and builds on the wider ambitions of the PfG by providing accessible, affordable education to all citizens.
€5m was secured under Budget 2022 to support new pilot initiatives and enhance existing initiatives under the Programme for Access to Higher Education (PATH) Fund to address priority actions under the NAP. Delivery of the Plan is supported by the PATH programme which provides a range of supports to priority groups including bursaries under the 1916 scholarship scheme and support for people from target groups in accessing initial teacher education. The programme also supports clusters of higher education institutions in attracting under-represented students.
A fully inclusive Further Education and Training (FET) system that meets all learners' education and training needs is a key priority for my Department. Indeed, Fostering Inclusion is one of the core pillars which the FET Strategy 2020-2024, Future FET Transforming Learning, is built.
Within the FET Sector, there is a broad range of accessible face-to-face, online and blended learning options available to all, offering opportunities to reskill and upskill, leading to progression towards awards at levels 1-6 on the NFQ.
FET courses are typically free of charge or heavily subsidised, and the announcement in Budget 2022 of the removal of the €200 PLC levy, which was introduced in 2011, with effect from the 2023/2024 academic year is particularly welcome. People who are interested in FET options can access free, one-to-one career guidance at over 260 locations across Ireland, please see www.therightcourse.ie for further information on courses, training and financial supports that may be available to them.
