Over €20m spent on third-level education scheme for Ukrainian students

Higher education minister James Lawless said the scheme recogised the 'benefits of further and higher education for Ukrainian students, as well as the wider society and economy'. File picture

Over €20m has been spent on a State stipend scheme supporting Ukrainian students attending third-level education in Ireland since 2022, new figures show.

The Department of Further and Higher Education said €20.7m had been paid out under the scheme over the past four academic years. 

Expenditure pealed at €10.8m in 2024-25 when 1,291 students receiving the stipend.

The lowest annual spend was €1.7m in 2022-23, when just 310 students availed of it.

There was a fall in student numbers in the 2025-2026 academic year, with 725 students in receipt of the scheme.

It was established in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and is overseen by the Department of Further and Higher Education.

It was co-funded through the Erasmus National Grant, though this co-funding ceased in 2024.

There have since been a number of changes to the scheme, as part of the Government’s move to reduce the offering to Ukrainian refugees who arrive into Ireland.

Higher education minister James Lawless said the scheme was revised for the 2025-26 academic year so it would provide targeted support to students whose temporary protection permission had been granted less than three years before the start of the academic year.

In a parliamentary reply to Public Accounts Committee chairman John Brady, Mr Lawless also said the stipend rates had been brought more closely into line with Susi maintenance grant rates.

It now provides eligible students who live less than 30km from their college with a €3,230 stipend for the year. A separate, non-adjacent rate of €7,586 is paid to students whose college is more than 30km away from their home.

Mr Lawless said the scheme recogised the “benefits of further and higher education for Ukrainian students, as well as the wider society and economy”.

He added: “It also represents an important part of Ireland’s solidarity and is a contribution to the long-term recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine."

The scheme has been criticised by Mr Brady, who said the stipend leads to “an inherent unfairness” as one group of students is treated differently to others.

“Since 2022, nearly 3,000 students have qualified for this support without any form of assessment of their means," he said.

The number of students in receipt of the stipend since its introduction were:

• 2022-23: 310 
• 2023-24: 527 
• 2024-25: 1,291 
• 2025-26: 725

Mr Brady said: “Every other student in the State is denied financial support if they are even one cent above the eligibility thresholds, yet this scheme completely moved away from this principle.

“The decision to move the scheme to more closely align with the existing Susi system for the 2026/2027 academic year is, in many ways, an acknowledgement of that reality and of the flaws in the Government's approach over recent years.”

The Sinn Féin TD said the €20m price tag attached to the scheme was a “very significant financial commitment” at a time when the Department of Higher Education faces underfunding and “considerable pressures”.