‘Even a small increase makes a huge difference' – student fears fee hike would force her to defer college for a year
A Leaving Cert student hoping to study at the University of Galway from September fears she might have to 'take a year off just to save enough' to afford college.
Minister for Higher Education, James Lawless prompted an angry backlash and caught cabinet colleagues off guard earlier this week when he said that fees will revert to the amount owed before cost-of-living measures, which reduced fees by €1,000 in the last three budgets.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Irish Times
7 hours ago
- Irish Times
Trinity student contribution fee ‘the same' as last year despite €3,000 invoice controversy
Trinity College Dublin (TCD) has said its billing process for the coming academic year is 'the same' as last year, following controversy surrounding invoices charging €3,000 in student contribution fees. Third-level fees have been reduced to €2,000 as 'once-off' cost-of-living measures for the past three years. However, Minister for Higher Education James Lawless signalled late last month that the €1,000 reduction to fees would no longer apply after a Government decision that there would be no cost-of-living package in Budget 2026. The comment sparked backlash among students, unions and Opposition parties, particularly following a commitment in the programme for government to reduce the student contribution over its lifetime. READ MORE After TCD began to invoice students for the upcoming academic year, charging a student contribution of €3,000, several Opposition TDs, including Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald, expressed dismay on Wednesday. The invoice, seen by The Irish Times, also includes a charge of €209.75 for 'student levies and charges.' The invoice also states: 'Pay in one instalment.' Ms McDonald said on X: 'We're already seeing the result of Minister James Lawless' announcement that college fees will be hiked-up by €1,000,' adding that it will 'heap additional stress and pressure' on to students and their families. Ms McDonald called on the Government to 'sort it out fast.' 'Students and their parents need to be told clearly they won't be hit with this unfair hike,' she said. Social Democrats TD Jennifer Cummins said she was 'shocked' that TCD had billed students €3,000, saying, 'it's not good enough to put students and their families under this kind of pressure when the promise was a reduction in fees'. However, TCD spokeswoman said the billing process for the upcoming academic year is 'exactly the same as it was last year and the previous year'. In previous years, the university has billed €3,000 for student contribution fees as invoices were issued pre-budget. Students who have paid €3,000 in full before budget announcements in the past have been refunded €1,000. The spokeswoman said fees are due on September 1st as part of registration, but students are offered the option to pay in three instalments. 'The billing process in Trinity is the same this year as it was in prior years, both in terms of timing and amounts invoiced,' she said. Mr Lawless said he 'fully intends' to reduce the student contribution fee over the lifetime of the Government. He told the Dáil 'the one-off measures, while welcome, were temporary in nature. I am moving to permanent measures that will benefit families and students in the long run.'
Irish Times
21 hours ago
- Irish Times
Student fee increase an ‘additional strain' for those with multiple children in college
'I will be struggling to find the extra €2,000,' one parent told The Irish Times, worried about the prospect of footing an increase in third-level fees next year. Third-level fees were reduced to €2,000 as a once-off cost-of-living measure three years ago, and this was rolled over for two further years. Minister for Further and Higher Education James Lawless recently said on RTÉ radio that without a cost-of-living package in the budget, fees would have to increase again to €3,000 'as things stand'. Ahead of an organised protest against the proposed return to annual student contributions of €3,000, which took place outside Leinster House on Tuesday evening, parent Frances Cody shared her concerns. READ MORE Having budgeted for fees amounting to €2,000 per child this September, Ms Cody says the rise will be a 'double whammy' for her family who have two children in higher education. 'The reduction to college fees has been a blessing and we now rely on this. If the college fees return to €3,000 a year I will be struggling to find the extra €2,000 I will need next year and a further €1,000 the year after. I can't just magically come up with this money.' Ms Cody said there is an 'additional strain' placed on families like her own who experience an 'overlap' in funding college expenses. For many, this increase in student fees will represent more than €1,000, with this figure doubling or even tripling for some. Bryan O'Mahony, AMLÉ president, at a protest at Leinster House over increases in student fees. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill/The Irish Times 'Every penny that comes into this household is accounted for,' she says, adding that 'there is no nest egg' to cover car breakdowns, doctors' bills, or other unexpected additional expenses. 'When my car broke down a month ago I had to pay for it with a Visa card that I have no way of clearing.' Her daughters attend UCD, where they are studying medicine and actuarial science. Both have commuted from their home in Redcross, Co Wicklow, through college – a journey which takes them more than an hour and a half each way. This means leaving at 5.30am 'to beat traffic'. Ms Cody is a teacher, and her husband works 'seven days a week' as a taxi driver to fund their eldest daughter's accommodation near UCD. Her daughter has recently started renting so she can attend hospital placements, after spending the first four years of her medicine degree commuting. A reduction in college fees over the last three years is 'the one concession from the Government that my family benefits from,' Ms Cody says. Education can come at a personal cost to parents and children alike, with financial pressure negatively impacting mental and physical health. 'My husband has health issues associated with stress and spending long days in a vehicle.' He had a heart attack aged 45. 'And my eldest worries about every penny she spends.' Speaking at Tuesday's protest, Bryan O'Mahony, president of Aontas na Mac Léinn in Éirinn (AMLÉ), said the €1,000 reduction in student contribution fees 'was not just a relief, it was not just a gift, it was a lifeline for students'. He called the fees-increase decision 'calculated' and 'a betrayal by our Government'. 'We are not here today for handouts. We are not here for gifts. We are here for fairness. We are here for basic respects.' Seán Thim O'Leary, president of Trinity College Dublin Students' Union, said the proposed increase in fees 'has come out of nowhere'. 'It's come at a time when so many students are already weighing up whether or not they can continue in higher education.' Prostesters at a demonstration, organised by the Labour Party, over an increase in student fees. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill/The Irish Times Aaron Duke, a history and politics student at University College Dublin, feels it is 'naive' to be surprised about the potential fee increase. 'It was kind of very obvious that this was going to be the case. They're very unwilling to spend money on the things that actually matters to working people or people who are struggling with the cost of living, which includes a high majority of students.' Cian McGrath, students' union president at Munster Technological University's Kerry campus, said: 'it's an absolute disgrace that they would even think about adding a thousand euro on for us to pay.' He said that the price of being a student in Kerry has 'just gone through the roof'. 'That's only in Kerry, you can imagine what it's like in Cork, Dublin, Limerick, Galway, it must be ridiculous elsewhere in the country if things are so bad in Kerry.' Hazen E Griffin, campaigns and engagement officer at University College Dublin students' union, called the potential increase 'shameful'. 'We have tons of students who might not be able to afford this and it's deeply damaging, especially in a cost-of-living crisis.'
RTÉ News
a day ago
- RTÉ News
Opposition call on Government to scrap fees hike for students
Opposition parties have urged Government to scrap a potential €1,000 student fees hike, saying rise is creating "barriers" to third level education and could force people not to go to college. TDs from across the political spectrum called for a u-turn on the Government plan, despite Minister for Further and Higher Education James Lawless criticising the "hypocrisy" and "points scoring" of rival parties. Speaking during a private members motion in the Dáil tonight, Sinn Féin TD Donna McGettigan told Minister Lawless to "have a look up there" at students in the Dáil gallery, before telling him "these are the people you've turned your back on". Her party's finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty said the Government plan is creating "barriers" for students and "scared the bejaysus" out of families when it was announced last week, arguing fees should be going down not up. A number of other Sinn Féin TDs also criticised the move, including Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire who said, "There are cabinet ministers who think the cost of living crisis is over". Their views were echoed by Labour TD and party spokesperson on Education and Youth Eoghan Kenny, who said "I wouldn't have been able to achieve third level education if it wasn't for the support of the State" - support he said is now being taken away. Pointing out the planned student fee increase, Deputy Kenny said when students hear about fee increases "you realise how little valued you are by this State". Social Democrats TD Jen Cummins described the situation as an "omnishambles" taking place "while families are grappling with the thought of whether they will be able to send their child to college in the autumn", while Independent TD Seamus Healy said he believes Government is "throwing students under the bus". However, responding to the criticism, Minister for Further and Higher Education James Lawless said he understood some of the points raised he rejected the "hypocrisy" and "points scoring" taking place. Minister Lawless said he believes "Fianna Fáil is the party of education in Ireland" and that he disagreed with the "cheap populism" from some opposition TDs. He said any changes are "a policy decision" and "not a move to re-allocate moneys", saying "some parties want to make noise, I want to make progress". Responding to the Minister's comments, Green party leader Roderic O'Gorman said the student fees controversy is a "messy episode" and that it is "okay to recognise that and right and proper to correct it." "Please Minister, do the right thing," he added.
