A plan to reduce the €3,000 student contribution fee and boost the numbers eligible for grants from next month is being considered by Government as part of a bid to cushion back-to-college costs.
The fast-tracked measures, which form part of discussions over Budget 2023, were not expected to come into force until the 2023/24 academic year.
However, sources say any changes to college costs contained in the budget – which has been brought forward by two weeks to September 27th – will apply to the 2022/23 academic year.
Higher education institutions are being advised to delay collection of the student registration charge in case they end up having to refund students for reductions.
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No decision has been made yet on the likely scale of reductions to the €3,000 student registration charge, though some have pointed towards a cut in the region of €500 for the coming academic year.
In addition, Government officials are examining the potential of increasing income thresholds to boost the number of students eligible to qualify for Susi (Student Universal Support Ireland) grants.
If a student has already been rejected for a grant in the coming academic year, sources say they will be reassessed in September and October under any changed eligibility rules contained in next month’s budget.
No agreement has been reached on the measures yet, but Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris said the Government was keen to support families in next month’s budget.
“Obviously, specific budget measures are a matter for budget day. However, the Government has been very clear that there will be two elements to this budget: the normal estimates process for 2023 and more immediate cost-of-living measures. Supporting students and their families has to be a part of both,” he said.
“In May, the Government approved my policy proposal to increase the core funding of higher education institutions and reduce the cost of education for students. I will be seeking to advance this policy in the budget.”
A cost of education paper is due to completed shortly which will set out options on lowering thresholds for access to Susi grants and potential cuts to the student contribution charge.
Students’ unions have clamoured for more to be done to ease the cost of college, given soaring rents, the rising cost of living and the fact that the €3,000 registration fee is the highest in the European Union.
Latest estimated costs for a student planning to study away from home in the capital this year will be €13,305, according to TU Dublin, and about €6,636 for a student living at home.
The representative body for technological universities and institutes of technology, meanwhile, said it supported moves to address cost as a barrier to participation in higher education.
However, the Technological Higher Education Association said colleges will need to be compensated for any reduction in the student contribution fee, which is vital in funding student tuition, student services and other supports.
The association also warned that this September will see the “strongest demand yet” for student accommodation and will make an “intolerable situation notably worse”.
It said a combination of factors, including increased student numbers, the late delivery of Leaving Cert results, pressures in the housing market and the temporary housing of Ukrainian refugees, means that finding accommodation will be highly challenging.
While there were few measures available to alleviate pressure this September, it called for technological universities to be formally given the green light to borrow funds and access State subsidies to deliver affordable student accommodation.
Dr Joseph Ryan, chief executive of Technological Higher Education Association, said one issue preventing development of campus accommodation is that the high cost of construction would result in “unaffordable” student accommodation for typical students.
He said subsidising the capital cost of building student accommodation, as the Government is doing in relation to apartments in cities, would make it possible to provide accommodation at “reasonable” costs to students.
The Government is understood to be considering subsidising a number of student accommodation projects in return for guarantees over affordable rents for students.
While Cabinet members have signalled they support the measure in principle, the issue is being examined in-depth with a focus on how many projects could be supported and what could be constituted as “affordable” rents in different parts of the State.
