The Deputy may be aware that Marino Institute of Education (MIE) is a private institution that is not funded by my Department. It does, however, receive some targeted funding from the Department of Education.
Private institutions play an important role in the overall higher education landscape. These institutions may be in receipt of some limited funding from the State for certain courses that are approved for funding under specific initiatives. These include the Free Fees Initiative, Apprenticeships and Springboard+. Under the respective arrangements, the State has agreed to provide funding for specific courses in line with specific agreements made between the relevant funding body and the private institution.
Budget 2026 contains a package of measures to support households with the cost of education. These measures include a €500 reduction in the student contribution fee for higher education students that are eligible for the Free Fees Initiative (FFI) for academic year 2025/2026. To avail of this measure students must be eligible for free fees and attending a free fees approved course.
Independent institutions operating in the private sector, like MIE, can establish courses which operate outside of the FFI, as is the case in this situation. Where such a course is established, the tuition fee payable is entirely a matter for the college as an autonomous institution. The Budget 2026 measure to reduce the student contribution by €500 does not apply to such courses. However, it is open to the institution in question, as a private autonomous institute, to apply a similar fee reduction, if it so chooses.
