Ireland
Ireland’s Budget 2027 for students, and what changes if you study while working
Budget 2027 cuts the student contribution by €150 for good, lifts SUSI for families with two or more in college, and raises maintenance grants 4.5%. What it means if you study online while working.
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Budget 2027, presented on 6 October 2026, cuts the student contribution by €150 a year for good, raises the SUSI fee reduction for families with more than one child in college from €500 to €750 a child, adds a new SUSI band for households earning between €120,000 and €150,000, and lifts every maintenance grant by 4.5%. If you are studying part time or online while you work, none of those schemes applies to you, and the costs that matter stay the same: the course fee and whatever your employer will fund.
What Budget 2027 changed for students
| Measure | Who it is for | Amount | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| Student contribution cut | Every student who pays the contribution | €150 a year off, permanently; the fee becomes €2,350 | Now; this term’s €150 is refunded in January 2027 |
| SUSI fee reduction, larger families | Families with more than one child in college who already get the €500 reduction | €750 a child | From the next SUSI scheme, to be confirmed in the 2027-28 rules |
| New SUSI band | Households earning €120,000 to €150,000 with more than one child in college | €500 a student | As above |
| Maintenance grants | Every maintenance grant band | Up 4.5%, worth up to €357 a year | As above |
| PhD stipends | Research students | No change |
How the €150 cut works
The student contribution, which most full-time undergraduates in public colleges pay, falls from €2,500 to €2,350 a year. The cut is permanent, not a one-year rebate like the earlier temporary reductions, and it applies to the current academic year: colleges refund this term’s €150 in January 2027. A family with two students in college saves €300 a year from the cut alone, before any SUSI change.
The SUSI changes, family by family
- Two or more children in college, household income under €120,000: the fee reduction SUSI pays rises from €500 to €750 a child. Two children, €1,500 a year.
- Two or more children in college, household income between €120,000 and €150,000: a new band, worth €500 a student. Until now these families got nothing from SUSI.
- Anyone on a maintenance grant: every band rises by 4.5%. On the highest rate that is about €357 more a year.
- One child in college: the €150 cut is the whole change. The larger-family measures do not apply.
SUSI runs on academic years and publishes its bands each spring, so the new amounts are expected to appear in the 2027-28 scheme when applications open. The budget speech did not give a date; this page will be updated when SUSI does.
What did not change
The €250 cut the Minister for Further and Higher Education sought in the final talks did not happen; €150 did. PhD stipends stay where they were. The department had to find €53 million in savings under the government’s spending levy, and the minister had told the Department of Public Expenditure that this would weigh on plans to expand apprenticeships and workforce upskilling as AI changes jobs. Nothing in the speech added a new scheme for part-time or online learners.
If you study online while working, what changes?
Nothing in these measures. The student contribution and SUSI are for approved full-time courses in Ireland and a defined list of courses abroad. A UK diploma or degree top-up studied online from Ireland, the route most people take with Elephant & Cross, is outside both. What that route costs is unchanged: a diploma from €220 a month, no exams, assignments marked by a tutor; a degree top-up priced by the university. Where the money comes from is also unchanged: your own pocket, or an employer who funds study that relates to the job. If you are between jobs or want a state-funded place, Springboard+ courses are the public route.
One thing the budget does do for an online learner: it confirms the direction of travel. The government keeps lowering the cost of full-time study and keeps the part-time and online routes outside the schemes. If you are working, the sensible comparison is the whole cost of each route against your time, not the headline fee.
For the grants as they stand today, see the SUSI and free fees guide; for the courses you can study from Ireland, see the Ireland page.
Questions people ask
When do I get the €150 back?
In January 2027, for the current term, from your college. From next year the lower fee applies from the start.
I have one child in college. Do I get the €750?
No. The €750 and the new €120,000 to €150,000 band are for families with more than one child in college at the same time.
We earn €130,000 and have two in college. What changes?
You enter the new SUSI band: €500 a student, €1,000 for two, plus the €150 cut each.
Does SUSI cover an online UK diploma?
No. SUSI covers approved full-time courses. An online diploma is paid monthly by you or your employer.
Did the maintenance grant go up?
Yes, every band by 4.5%, worth up to €357 a year on the top rate.
Did PhD stipends rise?
No. The budget left them unchanged.
Sources: The Journal, Budget 2027: everything we know (6 October 2026); The Irish Times, Budget 2027 main points (6 October 2026); Irish Examiner, college fees to be cut for parents with two children in college (5 October 2026); The Irish Times, how a budget is made (26 September 2026).