Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 September 2023
113. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he is considering any one-off cost-of-living measures for higher education, similar to last year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40592/23]
View answerThe Government and my Department is committed to reducing the cost of college for students and their families and a number of measures were introduced in Budget 2023 benefiting thousands of students.
In advance of Budget 2024 this autumn, and as I did last year, I published an options paper on 21st August 2023 which sets out for the Government's consideration, various options to the cost of education for families and students. This paper identifies costs and potential impacts of options and is published without prejudice to eventual Government decisions.
This options paper has been expanded this year to include options on cost reduction across Further & Higher Education, Research and Apprenticeships. Costings outlined in the paper include:- improvements to supports under the Student Grant Scheme; student contribution reduction methods; additional supports for students attending Further Education, measures to reduce apprenticeship fees and increases to stipends/scholarships for PhD students.
As the Deputy will appreciate, the estimates process is ongoing and while I cannot at this point pre-empt the budgetary process I can confirm I will have regard to all of the options set out in the Options paper when deciding how best to prioritise proposals.
