Lawless commits to 'make progress' on reducing student fees for this academic year

Siofra Foley, Jared Nadin, Dervla Ryan, and Orlagh O'Regan at the student protest against rising college fees on Tuesday evening. Picture: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ie

The Government will make progress on cutting student contribution fees for this academic year, higher education minister James Lawless has said.

Mr Lawless said he intends to focus on introducing long-term solutions to provide certainty for students in the future.

“We must go further in our supports to make sure students can access a world-class education and fulfil their rich potential,” Mr Lawless said.

“That's why the programme for government commits to reducing the student contribution fee over the lifetime of this Government.

I reiterate that I fully intend to deliver on that commitment and to make progress for the coming college year.

While Mr Lawless said the Government would reduce fees, he said it must be done in a “financially stable” way as part of the yearly budget process.

He said this would make sure it was fair for both students and higher education institutions, so they have funding to deliver third-level education.

The higher education minister said he would publish an options paper ahead of the budget, which would outline the costs of policy changes.

He also hit out at opposition TDs, saying they were political point scoring and using the issue as a political football, saying ad-hoc and uncosted measures would add up and be “at everyone’s expense”.

Mr Lawless was speaking during a motion on student fees, brought forward by Sinn Féin after his previous comments signposting a cut to fees may not be possible due to the ladk of another cost-of-living package being in place.

He had initially signalled that there may be no cut to student fees in March, saying universal cuts are “not fair or proportionate”.

However, this appears to have been backtracked, amid significant pressure within the Coalition and from the opposition.

Donna McGettigan, Sinn Féin’s higher education spokesperson Donna McGettigan told the Dáil that Mr Lawless had turned his back on students across the country.

Ms McGettigan said Mr Lawless’s announcement that fees may not be cut again was a “calculated attack” against students.

Cork North Central TD, Eoghan Kenny, rejected Mr Lawless’s assertions opposition parties were using fees as a political football.

“I’m not using this as a political football. This is genuine,” Mr Kenny said.

“I came out of college and the only reason I went to college, minister, is because I had access to a susi grant. But 80% of people across this country, minister, don’t have that same access to a full grant.

I wouldn’t have been able to achieve third-level education if it wasn’t for the support of the State. That support now is not being afforded to these very students. The same support that was given to students for the past two years.

The Labour TD particularly highlighted the lack of purpose-built student accommodation in Cork.

“I know people, friends of mine, who are paying €700, €800, €900 and €1,000 a month for rent in Cork, in a damp room, mouldy room with no light, no windows, and that’s what they’re living in,” Mr Kenny said.

Social Democrats education spokesperson, Jen Cummins, said “chaos and confusion” has reigned over the last nine days.

“It has been an omnishambles, of the ‘will they, won’t they’ put the student contribution fee up by €1,000,” Ms Cummins said.

Social Democrats TD for Cork South Central Padraig Rice said the Government had gotten the issue “badly wrong” and it has created huge levels of uncertainty and stress for students.

“We have to start by saying the fees in this country are already far too high.

Students are paying too much money to access what is a human right, basic education at third level,” Mr Rice said.

There was some internal budget wrangling between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael last week, with Tánaiste Simon Harris taking a direct swipe at Mr Lawless in a voice note to Fine Gael backbenchers.