Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 11 December 2025
239. Deputy John Connolly asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of and proportion of undergraduate students who receive support from SUSI to cover 100% student contribution, the number who receive support to cover 50% student contribution, and the number who receive €500 student contribution, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [67830/25]
View answerUnder the Free Fees Initiative (FFI), the State provides funding toward the tuition fee costs of eligible undergraduate higher education students with students paying the student contribution. As part of Budget 2026, I am permanently reducing this charge from €3,000 to €2,500 per academic year.
The State pays the student contribution (in full or part) on behalf of students who qualify under the student grant scheme. In the current academic year eligible students are availing of a 15% increase in income thresholds, compared to 2024/25, and next year, as part of Budget 2026, the income threshold for the €500 student contribution grant will increase from €115,000-€120,000. Combined with the permanent fee reduction, this means that eligible undergraduate students whose households earning are under €120,000 will pay no more than €2,000 towards the student contribution charge in the 2026/27 academic year.
In 2024/25, over 148,000 students availed of the Free Fees Initiative. Data for 2025/2026 is not available at this time.
Please see below data from SUSI as of 9th December 2025, showing the number of undergraduate students awarded and paid 100% student contribution, 50% student contribution, and €500 student contribution for the 2024/25 academic year. Processing for the 2025/26 academic year is still ongoing, so the figures for this year are awards only.
|
- |
2024/25 |
2024/25 |
2025/26* |
|
Grant Rate Band |
Awarded |
Awarded & Paid |
Awarded |
|
100% Student Contribution |
50,224 |
45,576 |
54,716 |
|
50% Student Contribution |
4,171 |
3,886 |
4,425 |
|
€500 to Student Contribution |
18,317 |
17,324 |
19,078 |
|
Grand Total |
72,712 |
66,786 |
78,219 |
* Processing for 2025/26 is still ongoing so figures are subject to change.
The Deputy asked for the number of and proportion of undergraduate students who receive support from SUSI. The HEA, on their Key Facts & Figures dashboard, provides a thorough profile of the student population in higher education institutions. The latest dashboard includes figures from 2017/18 to 2023/24 and is available on the HEA website. The data on 2024/2025 & 2025/26 is not available on the HEA website at this time.
Students | Statistics | Higher Education Authority (https://hea.ie/statistics/data-for-download-and-visualisations/students/)
It is important to note that not all courses which are listed as full-time on the HEA data set are eligible for Student Grant Support.
