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THIRD-LEVEL STUDENTS and those preparing to go to college are going to be “really hurt” by the Government’s decision not to repeat last year’s €1,000 reduction in undergraduate fees.
The deputy president of Aontas na Mac Léinn in Éirinn (AMLÉ), the national union of students in Ireland, said the move will lead to an increase in students deferring their degrees or leaving the country to study elsewhere in Europe.
Higher Education Minister James Lawless said over the weekend that “as it stands”, the universal cut to college fees for all undergraduate students in Ireland will not be replicated in this year’s Budget.
This means that many third-level undergraduate students whose fees have been cut from €3,000 to €2,000 will see the fees revert to what they were previously.
Lawless said the previous fee cuts were linked to a cost-of-living package that was included within the budget, with no similar package being made available this year.
The programme for government commits to reducing the Student Contribution Fee over the lifetime of the coalition “to ease the financial burden on students and families at the start of each academic year, in a financially sustainable manner”.
Lawless said he still intends to do this.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, AMLÉ deputy president Bryan O’Mahony said that their understanding was that the once-off measure “would eventually become a permanent reduction”.
“They said that they were looking towards the total abolishment of it over the lifetime of the government. For us, we don’t see it as a great start for the long-term reduction of it, if the first year of the government’s plan is to raise it back up to its original fee,” he said.
While he acknowledged that the union was never explicitly told that the reduction would be repeated this year, O’Mahony said he had been involved in talks since Simon Harris was Higher Education Minister and “the understanding was that this was what the push was for, to reduce it”.
He said the union had held some meetings with Lawless. “We weren’t aware that this was going to be a full return to €3,000 fees. That was never made clear to us at all.”
O’Mahony said there are “so many students”, including those who don’t receive financial support from their families or those already struggling to find accommodation or afford rising rents “are being blocked out and are going to be really hurt by this”.
“What we’ll see is students deferring. Students looking at options in Europe. Chances where they can actually attend their degree and actually study to their full extent.
So many students are working full-time jobs just to be able to afford to go to college, but they’re not able to actually be in the classroom because they have to pay for it.
Sinn Féin’s finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty has described the decision to reverse the reduction in fees as “a scandalous slap in the face” for families during a cost-of-living crisis.
He told RTÉ’s Today with Claire Byrne that there will be a surplus of €8.5 billion in this year’s budget.
“That’s a surplus that we will not spend. A measure of this nature would cost about €100 million. It would be about supporting families and workers during a cost-of-living crisis. That is the minimum what the government should do.”
Doherty said that the Government “thinks this cost-of-living crisis is over, but it’s not”, adding that the cost of groceries, petrol and diesel is still high.
He also referenced the recent changes introduced by the Government around rent pressure zones, which will permit landlords to increase rents if a tenant leaves a property voluntarily, calling it a “double whammy” for students.
“These students are going to get hammered by their landlords when they’re now allowed to fix the rent for new tenancies at any level that they want,” the Donegal TD said.
Housing Minister James Browne has already confirmed that there “won’t be any special measures” put in place to protect students renting in the private sector from rising rents.
Sinn Féin is calling for a cost-of-living package to be included in Budget 2026, with a proposal that student fees are reduced by €1,500 in September as a first step to ending student fees.
Doherty said families across the country “are pushed to the pin of the collar”, adding that the Government’s decision “makes no sense”.
“I really don’t understand why government are doing this at this point in time. It’s not necessary, it goes contrary to the programme for government commitment, and it needs to be reversed immediately.”
Labour’s Higher Education spokesperson, Senator Laura Harmon, said the decision was “completely out of touch” and would be a further burden on students and their families.
“At a time when the cost of living remains sky-high and when rents in college areas are completely unaffordable this move would hit families where it hurts,” Harmon said, calling on the Minister to reconsider the move.
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