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Irish Examiner
a day ago
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Government urged to ‘get its act together' over third-level fees plan
The Government has been urged to 'get its act together' and level with parents and students on how much college fees will be in the new academic year. Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe became the latest minister to refuse to confirm Government plans over third-level fees. The student contribution fee has been temporarily reduced for the past three years as part of cost-of-living packages accompanying the budget. The fees had been €3,000 before being temporarily cut by €1,000, saving families with multiple children at third level thousands of euros per academic year. Social Democrats TD Jennifer Whitmore told the Dail that students and families have been 'led down the garden path' by the Government and they are 'absolutely sick of its games'. Earlier this week, Higher Education Minister James Lawless said that student contribution fees will increase as there is no cost-of-living package to pay for what were temporary reductions introduced amid an inflation crisis. He said that fees will have to be reset, which means they will revert to the same level as previous years. He added that 'all of us in any walk of life have to play the hands we're dealt'. Ms Whitmore described these comments as 'utterly galling and incredibly tone deaf'. 'When will the Government get its act together and level with parents and students?' the Wicklow TD added. 'It has been five days since the higher education minister took to the airways and dropped the bombshell that parents and students will have to find another 1,000 euro to fund college before September. 'He did not try to sugarcoat that news — it was quite the opposite. A member of Government actively stacking the deck against students and families, essentially telling them to suck it up — that is what he said — and play the bum hand they have been dealt.' Sinn Fein TD Matt Carthy said the minister 'clearly stated' that without a cost-of-living package in October's budget, college fees will rise by 1,000 euro. A member of Government actively stacking the deck against students and families, essentially telling them to suck it up - that is what he said - and play the bum hand they have been dealt This, he said, was backed up by Taoiseach Micheal Martin. 'Let us clear up this mess today,' he urged Mr Donohoe. 'I have just one simple question for the minister and it is the same question that has been anxiously asked at kitchen tables all over the country. 'When students get their bill in September, how much will they be asked to pay? Will it be 2,000 euro or 3,000 euro? 'Students and their families need an answer to that question today. It is the only question I have for the minister.' Mr Donohoe answered by outlining the supports available to students. He said that one in three students do not pay a student contribution. He told the Dail that half of students use the SUSI scheme, and that households with an income of up to 64,000 euro do not pay a student contribution. The Fine Gael minister added: 'Budget by budget, we make changes we believe are affordable which recognise the challenges there. 'That is why we will do what we normally do in the approaching budget. We will put in place measures, including those to deal with the cost of becoming a student and the challenge many families face, we know are affordable, can be funded and can be built upon in the years ahead. 'The minister, deputy Lawless, myself and the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, deputy (Jack) Chambers, are clear on what that objective is. 'We are clear that temporary measures in place when inflation was high need to be looked at as well as how we can put in place other measures that can make a difference to something we know is an acute difficulty for many and those who are already receiving needed supports.' Read More Four men remanded in custody over €31m cocaine seizure in West Cork
Irish Times
a day ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
Students rail against possible rise in third-level fees
An increase in third-level fees this year would be 'sickening', one student told The Irish Times , as the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) called the proposed return to €3,000 annual payments 'a cynical and calculated betrayal' by the Government. For the past three years, a cost-of-living measure has reduced the student contribution of €3,000 by €1,000. This week, Minister for Higher Education James Lawless suggested that the end of temporary cost-of-living packages would mean that fees payable by students would increase. Taoiseach Micheál Martin said there was no funding earmarked at present for avoiding an effective €1,000 increase this year. Students and their representative bodies have expressed concern over the financial strain this hike in fees would place on those already struggling to fund their studies. Some described spending several hours commuting daily to afford college, while others said they had skipped meals to cut costs. READ MORE President of IADT students' union Lavender-Jane Gartlan feels the potential increase in fees is a 'slap in the face' to lower-income students and families. Lavender-Jane Gartlan: 'We ended up having to set up a network of students that were willing to give up a couch.' Gartlan, who graduated from a film design course in 2024, said she doesn't want to see a student in the same position she found herself in while studying. 'I received a Susi [Student Universal Support Ireland]grant to cover my fees, but still, during my studies, I was homeless twice, sleeping in my friends' houses and trying to get by, working 25 to 35 hours a week to save up enough money to rent somewhere.' She said this caused her health to suffer and her grades to drop, often leaving her choosing between food and bus fare. Last year, she was aware of 'about six students' experiencing homelessness, with some living out of their cars. 'We ended up having to set up a network of students that were willing to give up a couch' to those who couldn't find or afford accommodation, she said. She believes an increase in fees would be the Government telling students, 'we don't care about you'. 'Where is the Government's compassion? When did being kind and wanting everyone to be treated equally become an act of such defiance?' Alex Angland, president of the students' union in University College Cork (UCCSU), has also seen students 'attending lectures hungry due to financial pressures'. A cost-of-living report published by UCCSU in September found that more than half of students' college experiences were negatively affected by the costs involved. He said the fee reduction 'has been a significant aid to students these past years, ensuring that a more financially diverse cohort can avail of third-level education.' University College Cork students' union believes 'the cost of living package should be renewed, Susi should be reformed, and the Government must invest in student accommodation'. On Monday, the USI branded the move as 'regressive' and 'a cynical and calculated betrayal of students. The timing is no coincidence – aligning with the July 1st CAO change-of-mind deadline, leadership transitions within student unions, and now, this sudden rollback.' During the summer months, students' union officers are involved in handover processes to newly elected staff. USI president Bryan O'Mahony said the proposed fee increase is 'not just cowardly, it's disgraceful'. 'After years of chronic underinvestment, students continue to pay the price,' said O'Mahony. 'Was the fee reduction merely a short-term election stunt? Are we expected to endure the same cycle of pre-election sweeteners followed by post-election reversals?' Trinity College's students' union president, Seán Thim O'Leary, echoed O'Mahoney's sentiment, saying the announcement of a potential fee increase 'was deliberately timed to dodge accountability from student unions, as leadership across the country switches hands'. Thim O'Leary believes the Government has shown 'utter contempt for student welfare at a time when students are being forced into couch surfing, hours-long daily commutes, and homelessness. 'What is needed now from the Government, if they have any intention of showing care towards students, is a return to a policy of fee reduction for the coming academic year, an increase in per capita core funding for higher education and urgent and meaningful reform of Susi.' Darragh McCusker, a final-year applied psychology student at IADT, said that while his parents help pay his fees, he will still feel the impact of a €1,000 increase. Darragh McCusker is not really 'surprised' that the student contribution fee may return to its original cost. McCusker drives from Kildare to IADT's Dún Laoghaire campus every day, which costs him up to €70 in petrol a week. He works full time during the summer and both weekend days during term time to support himself. He said he's 'not really surprised' that the student contribution fee may return to its original cost. He believes fees were brought down 'coming up to election time' so political parties 'look like they're doing something for students'. Patrick Flynn describes the potential increase in third-level fees as 'sickening'. Patrick Flynn also commuted, spending four hours travelling daily by bus to and from home in Nobber, Co Meath, for the duration of his studies in Trinity College Dublin. Having just completed an undergraduate degree in environmental sciences, Flynn plans to start an online master's programme at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona in September as a means to save money. He describes the potential increase in third-level fees as 'sickening but not surprising', adding that 'it's very in keeping with what I've come to expect from the Government'. Renting in Dublin was not a financially viable option for Flynn, like many others, but the time spent commuting often came at a personal cost. 'I was frozen out of parts of the college experience,' he said, 'missing out on character building and fun experiences'. Flynn worked throughout his summer holidays and on weekends as a teaching assistant at the Centre for Talented Youth Ireland in DCU. 'I couldn't go without working, but this was an extra pull on already limited time. I really had to stretch myself in the last month of the semester. It was touch and go on whether I'd have any money in my account.' Given that he was able to avail of a reduction in contribution fees, Flynn anticipates plans to hike fees will place 'a very material strain' on students, many of whom he says are 'already struggling in precarious positions'. Maisie Hall: 'While we might expect the Government to be out of touch with most aspects of student life at this point, you would hope that they would be aware that the situation is only getting worse.' University of Galway students' union president Maisie Hall said a fee increase could be the difference between students receiving, or not receiving, a third-level education. 'While we might expect the Government to be out of touch with most aspects of student life at this point, you would hope that they would be aware that the situation is only getting worse.' She feels 'as though a decision has been made on our behalf that the cost-of-living crisis has ended for students. I can guarantee you it has not.'
BreakingNews.ie
4 days ago
- Politics
- BreakingNews.ie
Calls for Higher Education Minister to clarify student fee comments
The Higher Education Minister has been asked to clarify whether student fees will increase in the upcoming Budget. Minister James Lawless said that a cost-of-living package will not form part of Budget 2026, meaning the temporary drop in the student contribution fee would 'reset' to before the inflationary crisis. Advertisement Opposition politicians have criticised the mooted increase and asked the Government to give clarity to parents ahead of the upcoming academic year. 'If I don't have a cost-of-living package, I can't do the type of measures I did last year,' Mr Lawless told RTÉ's This Week. 'The once-off supports – and they were very clearly described as 'once off' at the time – are not being provided for as it stands because there's no cost-of-living package being made available. 'That may change coming into the Budget, I suppose it is a matter for the finance ministers more so than myself.' Advertisement He said the fees would 'reset' to what they were three years ago. The student contribution fee was at €3,000 before the inflation crisis, and was reduced by €1,000 as part of Government measures to help people grapple with inflation. The temporary €1,000 reduction was first announced in 2022 and extensions were confirmed in 2023 and 2024. Students whose households have a joint income below €100,000 could also apply for a grant through SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland) to secure a further €500 fee reduction. Advertisement Mr Lawless said he intends to 'wind down' the student contribution fee over the lifetime of the Government, but said 'it is complicated'. He said there are too many versions of the SUSI grant and said there is a 'desire to reform it' so that it is more effective. He said a cost of education paper would be assembled and published this summer. The programme for government states that the coalition will 'continue to reduce the student contribution fee over the lifetime of the government… in a financially sustainable manner'. Advertisement Maeve O'Connell, a Fine Gael TD for Dublin-Rathdown who is a former lecturer, said it was 'reasonable' for parents to assume that third-level fees would not be going up due to the commitment in the programme for government. She told RTÉ's Liveline that it was 'very early stages' in the Budget process and said there was no guarantee that this was the Government's final position. 'I will certainly be raising this week,' she said of parents' concerns about whether fees would increase this September. Labour Senator Laura Harmon said Ms O'Connell's remarks 'directly criticised' Mr Lawless and asked for clarity to be provided to families. Advertisement 'Yesterday, Minister Lawless made it clear that increasing student fees is still very much under active consideration. Yet today on Liveline Maeve O'Connell is attempting to say this hasn't been confirmed,' Ms Harmon said. 'This is not just a communications blunder – it's a political failure. It is incredibly unfair to leave students in limbo.' The Social Democrats' Jen Cummins said Mr Lawless 'dropped a bombshell' on students and their families. 'Fianna Fail and Fine Gael need to get their act together, end this phoney war and live up to their commitments to students. This speculation, about whether fees are going up, must now be brought to an end,' she said. People Before Profit councillor Conor Reddy said Mr Lawless's suggestion of raising fees was 'shocking', and called for third-level fees to be abolished and for student accommodation to be made affordable.
