Irish students say €150 fee cut falls short amid rising costs

Ireland has cut student fees by €150 (£127) in its latest budget, a move that student representatives say does not go far enough amid the rising cost of living. 

The announcement will bring the annual student contribution charge paid by undergraduates down from €2,500 to €2,350, far short of the €500 reduction student representatives has asked for ahead of the budget. 

While undergraduate students in Ireland do not pay tuition fees, which are covered by the government through the “Free Fees Initiative”, they have to pay a student contribution charge for student services and exams.

Other measures for students in the budget include a 4.5 per cent increase in maintenance grants provided through Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) and a new fee grant for families with more than one child in higher education. 

Lauren Joyce, vice-president for the Dublin region at Aontas na Mac Léinn in Éirinn (AMLÉ), Ireland’s national student union, told public broadcaster RTÉ that the reduction was welcome but did not go far enough. 

“Students feel like they’re being left behind,” she said. “Every single article that comes out about something becoming more expensive, for example, the transport a few weeks ago, one student described it as a kick while they’re already down.”

The fee cut comes as universities have repeatedly warned that higher education is significantly underfunded in the country.

The Irish Universities Association’s director-general Paul Johnston described the budget as a “failure to invest in the future”, saying in a statement that the financial burden on universities had been left “essentially untouched”. 

While €5.3 billion was allocated to the further and higher education department, universities received just €10 million in new core funding, according to the IUA, which says the sector still faces an annual funding shortfall of more than €250 million.

Johnston welcomed a National Training Fund for AI-related skills and steps to ease financial pressures on students, but said state funding per student is now 30 per cent lower in real terms than in 2008. 

“This under-investment means we will not be able to respond to increased student demand, including for lifelong learning. There will be increased reliance on international students to balance our books, with no new money for student accommodation or to sustain the quality of our educational offer,” he added.

seher.asaf@timeshighereducation.com