The government’s willingness to throw students under the bus by jacking up third level fees by €1,000 for the 2025/26 academic year is further proof that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael cannot be trusted, according to Social Democrats TD Jen Cummins.
Deputy Cummins, who is the party’s spokesperson on further and higher education, said:
“We are now seeing a clear trend emerging, with several Fianna Fáil ministers – and even the Taoiseach – signalling a return to the €3,000 student contribution fee for the year ahead.
“The Minister for Further and Higher Education, James Lawless, probably just said the quiet part out loud – that students and their families are set to be betrayed by this government in the upcoming budget.
“Today we heard Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers trot out the same tired old lines about the challenges facing Ireland due to US economic threats. However, this ignores the reality that President Trump’s election pre-dates the programme for government commitment to reduce student fees.
“This is just the latest example of why this government, or its pre- and post-election commitments, cannot be trusted. We have already seen this with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael’s false claims that 40,000 homes would be built last year; the watering down of the Occupied Territories Bill; and the dilution of protections for renters dressed up as rent reform.
“The panicked reaction of Tánaiste Simon Harris to suggestions of college fee hikes speaks to the level of division, distrust and dysfunction within this government. Given the level of outrage, and their prior commitments, they must reverse this decision.
“But students deserve more than being mere bargaining chips in another FF/FG phoney war.
“More than ever, they need to be supported in their educational journey at a time of an unparallelled housing emergency and cost of living crisis that continues to impact families the length and breadth of the country.
“Above all, they deserve to be recognised in a programme for government that is more than just a work of fiction.”
July 1, 2025