It was announced in Budget 2024 that the cost of the Student Contribution fee for 2023/2024 academic year would be reduced.
The government explained that they would decrease the charge by €1,000, which is 33 per cent of the original amount.
It is expected that 96,000 students will be affected by the change, however, there are certain criteria that people must meet in order to be considered entitled to the cash refund.
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Students will be impacted by the reduction if they qualify for the Free Fees Scheme.
To qualify for this initiative, you must be attending an approved full-time undergraduate course in an eligible institution.
Students must have been ordinarily resident in an EU/EEA/Swiss State/ United Kingdom for at least three of the five years preceding their entry to their third-level course and who meet the criteria of the scheme. Eligibility under the scheme is determined at date of entry to the course.
You can find out more about the Free Fees Scheme here.
However, it was confirmed that if you have already paid your Student Contribution, you will still benefit from the reduction as a refund will be issued to you.
To claim it, people have been asked to provide their bank details to their higher education institution before the end of November 2023.
The reimbursement of €1,000 is expected to be paid into their account in December 2023.
For those that do not provide their bank details, their account will be given a credit instead.
Minister for Further and Higher Education, Simon Harris, explained that for the majority of students, they will not need to take action.
He added that people who have not paid their entire student contribution fees yet will see the reduction when they go to pay the rest of their fees.
“If you are paying in instalments - as many families do - your second instalment will be reduced by up to €1,000 at the start of the second term in 2024. If you paid in full, your college will refund you by the end of the year," he said.
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