Coalition leaders discuss last ditch bid to cut student fees by €250 in budget

A €250 cut to the student contribution is expected to be discussed by Coalition leaders as they meet to finalise details of Budget 2027.The budget allocation for the Department of Higher Education was decided upon last Thursday but it is understood Minister James Lawless has made a last ditch bid to secure the cut.The student contribution fee currently stands at €2,500. It is understood that a €250 cut to the fee would cost less than €30 million.The programme for government commits to continuing to reduce the student contribution fee over the lifetime of the Government.READ MOREA €500 cut in the student contribution was announced in last year’s budget.One measure that has been agreed is a €16 million support package for students aimed at helping squeezed middle families through extending grant eligibility for households with more than one child in third level education. There is also a plan to use €150 million from the National Training Fund to be invested in AI skilling and reskilling. The Departments of Children and of Social Protection are among those yet to see their budget packages finalised.[ Budget 2027: Measures on pensions, welfare, income tax and more take shapeOpens in new window ]At a Fianna Fáil event on Saturday night, Taoiseach Micheál Martin was asked if promised childcare cost cuts would be targeted at any particular age group. He said: “There’s no question that the significant costs arise in the early years, in the zero to five years, and I think that’s something that the minister and public expenditure, people are looking at. But that all remains to be discussed.”In terms of social protection measures, a €10-per-week increase in the State pension and core welfare payments are expected to be announced as part of the budget on Tuesday.