Stipends for thousands of PhD researchers to rise by €3,000 a year

Thousands of PhD researchers will see their stipends increase by €3,000 from next January to €22,000 a year.

The move, to be announced by Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris on Thursday, will affect an estimated 3,000 PhD students funded by the State-funded Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) and the Irish Research Council (IRC).

The increase still falls short of the recommended level of €25,000 which was proposed in an independent national review of State supports for PhD researchers last May.

The low rates of pay have sparked protests over recent months and warnings from students that inflation and cost-of-living issues have created a “crisis” which threatens the sustainability of higher education research.

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There are an estimated 10,000 PhD researchers in total across Ireland funded by higher education institutions (who are paid on average of €9,640) and other competitive funding agencies (paid an average of €18,500).

In a statement, Mr Harris said the funding increase to be announced on Thursday is the third increase the Government has introduced for PhD researchers and goes “a significant way to addressing the challenges they face”.

“Ireland wants to be an innovation island and an island of talent. To do that, we must support our researchers. This increase will bring the stipend to €22,000 a year and will be effective from January,” he said.

In addition, new details of the first ever support scheme for undergraduate part-time students are due to be announced.

From September 2024, a grant scheme is being developed to provide support for students who are undertaking eligible undergraduate part-time programmes leading to a major award for both in-person or blended and online courses.

A Susi administered means test will determine eligibility for this scheme.

Applicants with reckonable incomes under €55,924 will be able to apply and it is proposed to apply the means test in a broadly similar way to how it is currently applied for full time courses under the student grant scheme.

Mr Harris said the expansion of supports to part-time has the potential to transform how education is accessed by those most in need.

“Education has the power to transform lives, lift people out of poverty and break down cycles of intergenerational poverty,” he said. “The fees associated with part-time programmes are a key barrier to higher education access. This will benefit vulnerable cohorts including low-income families including lone parents, teen parents, widows and carers.”

He said the Government will work towards maintenance grants in future years and this was a “first step.”

In addition, the Department of Further and Higher Education is due to provide details of a new scheme aimed at assisting small and medium enterprises with the cost of upskilling their staff.

An additional €1 million is being provided to design and pilot a scheme to incentivise small and medium-sized enterprises to participate in lifelong learning.

The pilot will focus on areas of particular challenges including digital skills, climate skills and transversal skills.

Minister Harris added: “This is an exciting development. The OECD review confirmed that Ireland performs relatively poorly in terms of investment in workplace training and people in employment engaging in lifelong learning. This will change under this new scheme. We will work with businesses to design a scheme that works for them.”

There is also confirmation that PLC fees are to be abolished for further education students with effect from September 2024.

Minister of State Niall Collins said that while the Government abolished the €200 PLC levy already, students continue to face various fees such as student services charges, application fees, exam fees and professional registration fees.

“The fees charged vary across the Education and Training Boards and while some ETBs have moved to reduce their fees, this additional funding will ensure all 24,000 learners across the country do not face fees, when pursuing a PLC course from September next,” he said.