Parliamentary Question addressed to the Minister for Education and Skills

To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if, in cases of clear inability to
pay, payment of the 3rd level registration fee can be postponed pending receipt
of the grant which does not come for some months after the registration payment
deadline; and if he will make a statement on the matter?

Reply

A new student contribution charge of €2,000 was introduced in higher education
by the previous Government with effect from the 2011/2012 academic year. This
charge replaced the previous Student Services Charge and applies to all
students who currently benefit under the ‘free fees’ scheme. The contribution
is paid by the Exchequer in respect of students who qualify under the third
level grant schemes.

In August 2011 the Higher Education Authority (HEA) wrote to higher education
institutions requesting that they show flexibility and consideration to
students awaiting a decision on their grant application and/or payment of
grants. At my Department’s request the HEA sent a reminder to institutions in
September 2011 again requesting that flexibility be shown to students who are
awaiting a grant application decision. While I understand from the HEA that a
small number of institutions were not in a position to offer this facility due
to technical systems limitations, all institutions were requested to
accommodate students who presented with financial difficulties on a case by
case basis and, from the academic year 2012/13 onwards, to have systems in
place that allow for the payment of the student contribution in instalments.