Students Union: Extend free fees
The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) has called for the Free Fees scheme to be extended to all residents born outside the EU whose permanent home is Ireland.
According to the USI the cost of college for some foreign nationals is often an impenetrable barrier.
A residency requirement, which USI is opposing, requires persons to have lived in the EU for three of the preceding five years in order to qualify for Free Fees.
Irish permanent residents who do not meet the three-year requirement face substantially higher tuition fees than students from EU countries, who qualify for tuition fees at an EU rate.
USI President Colm Hamrogue said: “For residents of this country born outside the EU whose permanent home is Ireland, the consequence of being priced out of Third Level is often social and economic marginalisation.
"This has implications for the whole society, as well as the ethnic communities most directly affected.
“The fees policy for so-called international students fails to make the obvious distinction between self-funding overseas nationals – those with substantial financial means who intend to return home after earning a qualification – and residents born outside the EU who live here permanently.
“Migrants whose home is Ireland, who contribute to Irish life and society and are making their future here in this country, are worth valuing and supporting.
“By extending Free Fees to this community, which includes recognised refugees in Ireland less than three years, the Government would promote a cohesive society, as well as social and economic mobility.”
