Emergency student accommodation fund, cut in fees and grant increases on cards for budget
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An emergency student accommodation fund, a cut in fees and increases in grants are all being considered ahead of the Budget.
Higher Education Minister Simon Harris is adamant that the cost of third level education should be addressed in October's budget and is also looking at special measures to protect students at risk of homelessness.
This is expected to include a €440,000 annual emergency accommodation fund which would be available through Student Unions in each campus.
Feedback from the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) has indicated that support from the Student Assistance Fund, while valued, can take a number of weeks to be processed, which puts some students at risk, especially at the start of the academic year when there is a significant demand for student accommodation.
Students’ Unions and accommodation officers across the sector report that they are often approached by students who encounter significant difficulties finding accommodation.
The measure, which is included in the annual Cost of Education options paper, will see an increase in support through the new emergency fund to provide immediate supports for students seeking accommodation on arrival on campus.
As part of a number of measures to help with the cost-of-living last year, the Government announced a once-off €1,000 reduction in the registration charge bringing the amount students had to pay down to €2,000.
However, this could be retained again this year as Mr Harris has stressed the need to make third level education more affordable.
The options paper sets out a range of reductions that could be made to the amount student pay in registration fees each year. A cut of €100 would cost the State an extra €9.2m each year, a €1,000 reduction would amount to €91.9m while an additional €254.7m in funding would be required each year to axe the full fee.
An alternative option is an increase of the €500 student contribution grant to a higher rate and/or increase the income threshold from the current threshold of €100,000.
"The Government is committed to reducing the cost of education for families and students. This paper sets out a number of options to consider in advance of this year's Budget," said Mr Harris.
"Decisions will be made at the Budget but it is important to see all of the levers available," he said.
Among the other options out forward is a 25% increase to non-adjacent maintenance grants compared to the 2021/22 grant rates, this would benefit more than 27,000 students and would cost an extra €5.6m each year.
Increasing post graduate maintenance grant rates to the same level as the supports for undergraduates across all bands is also being examined and would cost around €3.9m each year.
Last year, the Department following the publication of our policy on the future of third level education in Ireland, gave a commitment to develop an annual options assessment to outline measures to reduce the cost of education.
This year the report has been expanded to include options on cost reduction across further and higher education, research and apprenticeships.
The paper sets out the various options available to Government to consider in advance of the Budget.
The Department is also currently options for a scheme to provide greater support to part-time learners in higher education and could include remote learning opportunities or other hybrid learning models.