Minister of Education Ruairí Quinn says he is confident universities will agree to his plan to drastically lower third-level fees for children of Irish emigrant families living outside of the European Union.
Speaking at Ringsend College in Dublin, where he announced funding for repair and improvement work for almost 400 schools across the country, Mr Quinn said there would not be any significant financial impact on third-level institutions or an increase in the numbers of students under his new plan.
“There’s no evidence to suggest that there’d be a sudden increase from outside the EU,” he said.
The Government announced a third-level fee concession on St Patrick’s Day that would benefit migrants who moved their families to Australia, United States, Canada and other regions outside the EU.
Before this if the student had not lived in Ireland for three of the previous five years they were subject to international fees.
Academic year
The fees for non-EU students range from €8,000 to more than €20,000 per academic year depending on the course and the institution. The average level of fees is over €10,000.
However, under the new rules if the student had attended five years of schooling in Ireland, in either primary or secondary level, their annual contribution would be the same as Irish and other EU students starting at €2,500 a year.
Mr Quinn noted Ireland had the second highest level of fees in Europe after the UK, and he did not believe people would come because of the fee structure.
Mr Quinn said he learned the non-domestic fees were a “big issue” for Irish emigrants while on a trip to China for St Patrick’s Day last year.
"We looked at different ways this could be alleviated. This is a gesture of solidarity with Irish people abroad, in particular that cohort of people that were obliged to leave for economic reasons."
Difficult to judge
Ned Costello, chief executive of the Irish Universities Association, the representative body for the seven Irish universities, said the financial impact of the reduced fees was difficult to judge.
“Universities are certainly struggling at the moment. Anything the State does that lessens the income of the universities from any source is going to have a detrimental effect on the universities.”
Meanwhile, the Minister announced 386 schools would get money to carry out repair and improvement works during the summer. It is the first time since 2011 that such funding was being made available.
Mr Quinn said the first round included €36 million, and a second round would be announced in the coming weeks. “A lot of the schools are quite old and they need upgrading.”
Mr Quinn said a total of €470 million would be invested in modernising schools this year.
