Mayo Young Fine Gael regional organiser calls for clarity from Fianna Fáil Minister on student fees

Young Fine Gael calls on the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, James Lawless to provide some much-needed clarity for third-level students in Ireland following confusion regarding the student contribution in recent comments.

For the last number of years, the student contribution fee has been cut by €1,000, meaning that students who do not get their student contribution covered by SUSI pay €2,000. While this is still far too expensive, and Young Fine Gael believes it should eventually be abolished, the very least that can be done is to continue the €1,000 reduction.

Comments from Minister Lawless recently hinting that the fee could return to previous figures and stating that it is not “fair or proportionate” are not helpful to students in Ireland and are a slap in the face to those who are paying among the highest rents in Europe, dealing with inflation, an increased cost of living, and already some of the most expensive student fees in Europe.

Many students are not eligible for the SUSI grant, and until the grant system is reformed, the €1,000 reduction initiated by An Tánaiste Simon Harris when he was in the role must be continued.

Young Fine Gael President Jamie Malone said, “Third level students in Ireland need clarity. Minister Lawless must provide clear assurances that the €1,000 reduction in student contribution will be maintained, as it remains an essential lifeline for many students facing an increasingly difficult financial burden.”

Mayo native Dean Kenny and Young Fine Gael North West Regional Organiser, added, "It is beyond belief that we are still in this situation, that third level students have to wait every year, with bated breath, to find out if they are going to be paying €2,000 or €3,000 in student contribution fees.

“For many students in the West of Ireland, this reduction could well be the difference between continuing their college course, or dropping out, such is the financial situation that many students find themselves in,” the former President of University of Galway Students' Union stated.

“The Minister needs to come clean with students sooner rather than later and give much needed clarity on their future”, Kenny concluded.