Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 19 November 2025
377. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the amount that was spent in each of the past five years, and in 2025 to date, in promoting Ireland as a destination for foreign students to study at either in third level or in English language schools in the State, broken down by the country in which the promotion took place, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [64312/25]
View answerFollowing a Government Decision in 2009, Enterprise Ireland has had lead responsibility, on behalf of the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, for the marketing and promotion of the Education in Ireland brand overseas and the development, promotion and marketing of international higher education markets, in line with overall government strategies.
The level of funding provided by my Department to Enterprise Ireland to assist with carrying out their functions regarding the marketing and promotion of Ireland as a place to study for international students, is outlined in the table below;
|
Year |
Funding provided |
|
2020 |
€556,725 |
|
2021 |
€650,000 |
|
2022 |
€650,000 |
|
2023 |
€600,000 |
|
2024 |
€600,000 |
|
2025 |
€600,000 (Payment due in December) |
Ireland's higher education institutions, both the publicly funded and private sector providers, also pay a subscription towards Enterprise Ireland's costs and a number of English language education providers are also Enterprise Ireland clients. For this reason it is not possible to provide a breakdown of expenditure by country as requested by the Deputy.
It is important to distinguish between English language students, who typically come for short-term programmes and international higher education students who come to Ireland for full degrees and advanced study.
International higher education students make a significant contribution to Ireland’s higher education institutions, and to society generally, both financially and in terms of the cultural diversity they bring.
While higher education institutions in Ireland are responsible for setting their own fees, and these vary between institutions, non-EU students typically pay significantly more than their EU counterparts.
EU students qualify for the Free Fees Initiative and only pay for the Student Contribution Charge and the Student Levy, around €2,754 in total.
In contrast, undergraduate fees for Non-EU students are very significantly higher. These can range from €12,000 to over €55,000 per student per academic year, depending on the institution and academic discipline.
