2026-05-12

150. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will consider additional financial supports for students on a temporary basis due to increasing travel costs that students are currently facing as we approach exam time; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34974/26]

Will the Minister consider additional financial supports for students on a temporary basis due to the increase in travel costs that students are currently facing, particularly at this time of exams?

The Deputy's question is timely. I am always conscious of the desire to reduce the cost of education for students. I met a number of students recently at the cost of college event where I had very good conversations. I am meeting AMLÉ tomorrow and I meet student unions across the country on an ongoing basis. On many occasions, I have outlined my commitment to improving student supports in a way that is equitable, funded, fair and provides certainty for families. That is one of the reasons I prioritised student supports in the most recent budget, my first budget in this role. Real and permanent changes were introduced that support students from all backgrounds and help reduce the cost of education, particularly for those who may not have traditionally been able to access it. As a result, more people are allowed in and the pool of access is broadened. Access to higher education is a life-changing event. The Deputy posed a specific question about travel costs and temporary supports. I agree with her, and so does the Government. That is why we recently agreed at Cabinet to provide €750 million of additional money to support people suffering as a result of the fuel crisis across a number of sectors. Most importantly, this is done in a way that supports everyone who uses motorised transport through reductions at the pumps. There is a 10 cent additional excise duty reduction, bringing the total reduction put in place this year to 32 cent per litre on diesel and 27 cent per litre on petrol, combined with a package of other measures. For any student who, as the Deputy described, is incurring increased travel costs, be it through their car or travelling on a bus, train or other vehicle, which all have heavy fuel costs, the idea behind the excise duty cut is that every household, family and student in a car or bus will avail of some sort of subsidy and relief on a temporary basis for the cost of travel, as the Deputy suggested. In short, I agree with the Deputy. That is exactly why the Government is moving swiftly on this.

I welcome the fact the Minister said he is trying, although the 10 cent reduction has already come and gone and it is still costing students and their families more to travel. Some students have no choice but to live at home and travel because there is no accommodation for them. We are coming into the exam period and there is also uncertainty around the student fees with the current cost of living. I know the Minister can only do so much with the allocation he has, but students are telling me they need this. Students should not be the ones to carry this burden. They should be able to put fuel in their car, but they cannot do so. They cannot afford it and are getting into debt. They have to take on extra time in work just to pay for this. I would welcome even more supports than what the Minister has outlined because the current supports are not enough.

As the Deputy knows, the student supports I introduced in the most recent budget targeted, in particular, those students who have to travel extra distances. They are categorised as being "non-adjacent". All four bands of non-adjacent maintenance grants were increased by between €200 and €400 to reflect the additional costs for those commuting those distances. The Deputy mentioned accommodation, and rightly so. I am aware it is a key concern for most students. As the Deputy knows, I published the student accommodation strategy recently. It is building up steam. There have been almost 3,000 new commencements since it was introduced only a month or six weeks ago. I visited Whitebox Student Campus in Limerick where a site of approximately 1,200 to 1,400 beds is getting ready to move forward. That site used my new student accommodation design template. The fruits are already beginning to bear, but I am conscious it will take time to build those sites out, secure planning and move through the process. We are up and running with that now.

Would the Minister look at the costings for a temporary free travel scheme for students affected by the current fuel crisis? We are not looking for this to be a permanent measure but, rather, a temporary one to get them over this period. Such a scheme could lift the burden on students commuting long distances to colleges. Any relief on the cost of living would make a significant difference to students. Not only are they trying to afford to stay in college, but their mental health is being affected by this too.

We are doing that. This week or next week, we will pass the Finance Bill through the Houses to give effect to those measures we have already decided, as a Government, to take. We are doing exactly as the Deputy suggests. We are providing further subsidies on the cost of travel to students in two ways, namely, through direct intervention at the petrol pumps for those students who travel by car and motorised transport and by additions to the maintenance grants, which are already in the system and being paid out to students across the country. Students are receiving those benefits from the new grant amounts that I increased for exactly that reason. I am always having ongoing conversations with students. I will be publishing shortly the outcome from the cost of college event I hosted this year. That will be in the form of a paper and it will be available for reference to the Deputy, as her party's spokesperson for this area, and to all Members of the House. It will outline all the different options students suggested, with a costing against each one. For the first time this year, the paper will contain an impact analysis detailing what each measure would mean in terms of outcomes, policy goals, widening access and the material difference it would make to allow students to make the leap into education and navigate through it.