Ceisteanna ó na Comhaltaí Eile - Other Members’ Questions
Dail Éireann — 2025-11-12
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Micheál Martin (FF), Cork South-Central

If we had had Deputy Boyd Barrett at the time, we probably would have had a more effective protest. Welcome back.
In any event, I think the third level education situation has a broad range of issues. First of all, we have to have really sufficient funding and core funding so that the quality of third level education is high and that it rates internationally. That is very important. There have been, to be fair on the last Government and this Government, sustained increases in the core funding of higher education over three budgets now, a total of €164 million. In addition, additional Exchequer employer contributions have been secured, a further €100 million per annum committed to by 2030. That came out of that report some years ago.
The other key area is in terms of research. I am very keen that we would step-change our investment in research, which is key for students themselves, but also for society and for the economy in terms of having really high-level, quality research activities in our universities that provide solutions to world problems but also then act as a very significant catalyst for new industries, new products and services. We did this before in the late 1990s and early 2000s. We are determined to do it again. Already as a result of this budget, there is about €425 million in research and innovation in the 2026 budget. That is part of a €2.3 billion NDP allocation. We have to do it, given what is happening in America, tariffs and everything, and threats to established ways of working. We simply have to really double down and reinforce our own capacity to develop our own indigenous industries and also to attract investment in respect of life sciences, renewable energy, technology and AI more generally. Then we have to invest in apprenticeships and skills. Really significant progress has been made over the last number of years. Combining that with the R and D tax credit, that is effective.
In terms of supports for students and families, there was a €500 real cut this year. The cost of living measure was just a two-year provision right across the board, but we have embedded €500 of that cut to the student contribution fee. That is permanent. There is a higher SUSI income threshold as well now. It is now €120,000, the highest ever, extending support to thousands more families. There are 30,000 students living 30 km from campus. They receive higher non-adjacent SUSI payments as well. That is up.
Then we have to look at the postgraduate students-----

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Retrieved: 2026-09-21T01:01:05+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-11-12