Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 October 2024
632. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to consider allowing children of Irish parents who have emigrated outside of the EU, and have not lived in the EU for three of the past five years, to avail of the free fees scheme to attend third-level education in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40176/24]
View answerUnder the Free Fees Initiative, the State pays tuition fees, exclusive of the student contribution, on behalf of eligible students attending approved full-time undergraduate courses. In order to qualify for funding under the Department's Free Fees Initiative, students must meet the criteria of the scheme including the residency requirements in their own right.
In order to meet the residency criteria a student must have been ordinarily resident in an EU/EEA/Swiss/UK state for at least three of the five years preceding their entry to an approved third level course.
The three out of five year rule takes cognisance of students who wish to take time out to travel or work abroad. Such students can still meet the residency requirement if they have not been outside the countries referenced above for more than two of the previous five years.
All students are required to meet the residency criteria of the scheme preceding their entry to an approved third level course. Under EU law, nationals of other EU jurisdictions are entitled to access education on the same basis as Irish citizens. It would not be feasible to provide an exemption for persons of Irish nationality only.
Where students do not qualify for free fees funding they must pay the appropriate fee, either EU or Non-EU, as determined by each higher education institution as autonomous bodies.
My Department is conscious of the impact of the Free Fees Initiative eligibility criteria on Irish nationals who had, for occupational or economic reasons, to move abroad, requiring them to take their children out of the Irish education system in the process.
In March 2014, following consideration by Government, the then Minister for Education and Skills requested that the Higher Education Authority (HEA) advise the higher education sector of the Government’s view that, with effect from the academic year 2014/15 onwards, higher education institutions should charge the more moderate rate of EU fee for full-time undergraduate students that commence their first undergraduate course of study in an approved institution here and:
• Hold EU/EEA/Swiss nationality but do not meet the residency clause of the Free Fees Initiative; and
• have completed five academic years of study (at either primary or post-primary level) in an EU/EEA/Swiss State.
It is a matter for the institutions to apply this policy to such students.
