As advised in May 2025 Temporary Tuition Fee Support Scheme, the BOTP Stipend and the PLC Bursary will be closed for any applicant starting a new course in the 2026/2027 Academic Year. Support for new entrants will be via existing schemes such as the Free Fees Scheme and/or the Student Grant Scheme administered by SUSI. Prospective students must meet the relevant eligibility criteria of those schemes to avail of supports.
Students progressing in their academic course whose initial Temporary Permission was granted by the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration more than three years before the start of the 2026/ 2027 Academic Year should apply to Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) to check eligibility for financial supports.
Temporary supports for students progressing in their academic courses, namely - the BoTP Stipend, the PLC Bursary and the Temporary Tuition Fee Support Scheme - are currently under review for the Academic Year 26/27 and further information will be available on Gov.ie in the coming weeks.
Springboard+ eligibility was expanded from the 2022/23 academic year to include ‘qualified persons’, meaning persons granted temporary protection in Ireland under Section 60 of the International Protection Act 2015, in accordance with the EU Temporary Protection Directive 2001/55/EC. Beneficiaries of temporary protection from Ukraine may therefore apply for Springboard+ courses on the same basis as Irish citizens, subject to meeting the eligibility criteria for the relevant course and call.
Springboard+ operates on an annual call basis and courses are generally of short duration, typically one year or less, therefore it does not generally create an automatic continuing entitlement into a second academic year. Applicants for Springboard+ 2026 will be assessed at the point of application, with approved courses scheduled to commence between August and 31 October 2026. Springboard+ is operated by the HEA on behalf of this Department, further information can be found on springboardcourses.ie/.
