2026-05-12

159. Deputy Cathal Crowe asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science to outline his priorities in relation to Erasmus+ in the current negotiations for the EU’s multi-annual financial framework from 2028 to 2034. [34852/26]

Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan will introduce this question.

I am asking this for Deputy Cathal Crowe. Will the Minister for higher education outline his priorities in relation to Erasmus+ in the current negotiations for the EU’s multi-annual financial framework from 2028 to 2034?

We have been engaging intensively with European partners on the future of Erasmus+. My officials are working closely at the technical level and I am working at the ministerial and political level to advance negotiations on this important programme. Good progress has been made under both the Danish and Cypriot Presidencies. As the Deputy knows, the Cypriot Presidency comes to a close at the end of June. I was in Brussels yesterday at the Education Council. I am pleased to advise the Deputy and the House that we reached agreement among education ministers at the Council on the partial general approach for the next Erasmus+ programme. That is a really significant milestone. The partial general approach is the agreed framework among officials and across ministers at Council to now take that forward to what we call the tripartite negotiations. I will be privileged to chair those debates over the next six months. We will be taking Erasmus+ into tripartite negotiations with the European Parliament to progress that. That is very positive and I am excited about the opportunities for us and the opportunity for Ireland to put our stamp on the Erasmus+ scheme when we bring those negotiations in. One of the plus points of the new Erasmus+ programme is that it opens up integration to the European Solidarity Corps. As the Deputy will be aware, the Erasmus+ programme has been largely an academic college-based exchange. We are broadening that out to include community programmes, sporting programmes and youth programmes. That is really important because it widens civic participation. It is not necessary to be a student to be involved in Erasmus+; young people may be involved in many other strands of public life. They will have the opportunity to exchange with other European nations, centred around European values and have the experience of living and participating abroad, which is to be welcomed. It was very good news coming from Brussels yesterday.

I realise that next year will be the 40th anniversary of the Erasmus programme and it has gone from strength to strength. Like the Minister, I know dozens of students who have availed of it over the years. I believe Ireland has sent more than 65,000 students since the programme's inception. It is a programme that we all support and would like to see go from strength to strength. The funding for the programme has increased to €40 billion now, which is far greater than its predecessor of €26 billion. However, because of the further reach to people not doing academic courses as the Minister has outlined, from what I am reading from the European Parliament debates on it, there is a concern that proportionately, the money going to each individual student might actually decrease. I ask the Minister to speak to that.

It would be regrettable if that scenario were to come to pass. I understand the concern and it is well voiced. We are at the partial general agreement, meaning that specific parts of the proposal have been agreed. Ultimately the budget has yet to be agreed and that is what we have to negotiate with our colleagues in the European Parliament as we move on to the tripartite stage. I will be meeting some of the relevant committee chairs in the European Parliament and some of the members of those committees. I will engage with them further in July, I think at the Strasbourg session, to try to move this along. However, the fact that we reached partial general agreement yesterday is critical because we could not have opened negotiations had we not done that. That will be part of the overall MFF negotiations. It is also very much a goal for the State and for me to seek maximum funding for the Horizon research programme envelope. Some €175 billion is bracketed in at the moment, a very significant figure. That is available to Irish researchers, including small and medium enterprises, as well as the academics.

We know the value of the programme in terms of the student experience. People pick up linguistic skills and become more rounded students. It is proven academically that students who engage fare better in terms of their academic life and their job prospects afterwards. There is no denying how important the scheme is. I believe it was worth €14 million to the Irish economy in 2016 with 25,000 students coming here as well as their families who might visit them. In 2025 we received 44,500 students showing how it has grown exponentially. I ask the Minister to fight for every penny he can to increase that budget because there are concerns that proportionately, students in the scheme will not fare as well. I ask the Minister to emphasise that in his negotiations.

I very much take the Deputy's points on board. He is right about the contribution to the economy that arises from having the student inflow here as well as the visiting families and so forth. When I was growing up, my own house was home to many visiting students of many nationalities on different courses. It also provides for a richer rounder experience for the host families and the students. Earlier we were talking about the age of AI, digital skills, skills gaps and some of the automated tasks being carried out now. A student who has travelled, experienced other cultures, and acquired language and communication skills will be much more resilient in the face of AI and changing digital transformation and the new world we are entering into. I agree with the Deputy that it is an extremely important progression. I will absolutely be keeping a watchful eye on that, as Ireland assumes the Presidency of that Council, to ensure the budget is maximised for Irish students.