LAST WEEK, THE Government quietly announced that student contribution fees would return to €3,000. For students and families across Ireland, this wasn’t just an administrative update — it was a direct blow.

And it was timed to land without consequence: the day before the CAO change of mind deadline, and right before student union officers changed over across the country.

Some believe Minister James Lawless was backed into a corner in his RTÉ interview and mistakenly announced the change, but we believe this is a calculated move by the Government — a weekend drop designed to dodge accountability from both outgoing and incoming student representatives.

They promised to reduce fees. Then, they decided to raise them by refusing to back the universal cut designed to support students in the cost-of-living crisis. And they attempted to do it quietly and at the worst possible time.

What they hadn’t accounted for was the possibility of a week of pushback and protest over such a move. Anxious parents and students lobbied, phoned radio shows and vocalised their concerns. The real concerns about how they were going to get their one, two or more kids through college this year. 

Huge financial burden

The return to the €3,000 fee would put Ireland right back among the most expensive countries in Europe for higher education. For many students, this fee is not a number on a page — it’s the difference between accepting a college place or not, between staying in education or dropping out, between progress and paralysis.

This isn’t about affordability alone. It’s about credibility. Trust. And the repeated failure of Government to live up to its own words.

In 2020 and 2025, two programmes for government made clear promises to reduce fees, reform the SUSI grant system, and invest properly in third-level education. Fine Gael’s own manifesto pledged to phase out fees entirely. But instead of progress, we’ve now witnessed what looked like a rollback. And instead of consultation, we’ve had silence.

Students are not pawns in pre-election sweeteners and post-election betrayals. The €1,000 fee reduction introduced in Budget 2023 was presented as a meaningful step forward. But it was temporary. Not structural. And now, even that short-term relief has by all accounts been taken away — at a time when rents are soaring, groceries are more expensive, and thousands of students are still waiting for basic SUSI grant reform.

Let’s be honest: the system is already at breaking point. Rent for students in Dublin, Cork and Galway can exceed €800 a month. SUSI still fails to reflect the real cost of living or complex family circumstances. Many students are working part-time jobs just to survive — not to save for travel or cover luxuries, but to afford food and rent.

Was the fee reduction just a short-term election stunt? Will we see the same pattern again?

Students left in limbo

We’ve heard from students who are now questioning whether they can afford to accept a CAO offer. Some are considering deferring their place. Others are thinking of dropping out entirely.

This is not a theoretical policy issue — this is a crisis on the ground. And it’s worth remembering who this affects most: students from working-class families. Students in rural areas. Migrant and international students. Students with disabilities. Students who are carers, parents, or the first in their family to attend university.

Students experiencing estrangement face unique challenges, often lacking the emotional and financial support from family networks. This isolation makes the financial burden of fees and living costs even harder to bear. Unfortunately, SUSI grant still does not adequately recognise or accommodate the needs of estranged students, leaving many without the necessary financial support to continue their education.

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Education should level the playing field. Instead, it’s reinforcing barriers.

AMLÉ is calling for:

• An immediate reversal of this fee hike

• Urgent, meaningful SUSI reform

• Long-term investment in the third-level sector through the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS)

• A clear recommitment to the promises made to students in 2020 and 2025.

This is not just our view. The Cassells Report, the OECD Funding Report and countless other expert analyses have pointed out the structural underfunding of Ireland’s higher education system.

As the OECD notes, “Ireland invests significantly less in higher education compared to other OECD countries, resulting in under-resourced institutions and increased financial pressure on students through higher fees and living costs.” The data is there, Ireland ranked lowest out of 34 countries, What’s missing is the political will.

This isn’t just about fees. It’s about how little students are valued in this country.
Students adapted overnight to pandemic-era remote learning. Many worked on the front lines. They were praised for their resilience. But now, they’re being asked to bear the burden of broken promises.

The Government can change course. There is still time. It can do the right thing this week. But students won’t forget how they were treated — and we won’t stop fighting until education in Ireland is not just accessible in theory, but in practice.

Bryan O’Mahony is President of Aontas na Mac Léinn in Éirinn (AMLÉ), Ireland’s national student union representing third-level students across the country.