Irish students assured they 'will not lose out' over places for Ukrainian students

A government spokesperson has insisted that Irish students "will not lose out" as a result of measures designed to help Ukrainian students in higher education. 

A spokeswoman for the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Simon Harris, said any additional college places for returning Irish students or Ukrainians will use up any places set aside for college entry in the coming academic year.

It comes after a number of universities across the nation have pledged to provide places for an estimated 46 Irish students who had to leave Ukraine in the middle of their studies.

According to The Irish Times, the majority of these students were studying medicine or dentistry.

Ukrainian students coming to Ireland will also have access to free tuition fees and grants that are available to Irish and EU students.

Fine Gael Minister for Further and Higher Education, Simon Harris TD

In addition, The spokesperson for Minister Harris also said that she said the Minister expects to be in a position to announce a "significant increase" in medicine places shortly.

While speaking about helping Ukrainian students ahead of a meeting of EU ministers, Minister Harris said: "The Irish Universities Association has confirmed they will provide places necessary and we look forward to working with them on that... we will also work collectively to ensure Ukrainian people can access higher education here too."

He added: "I will continue to engage with colleagues across the sector to ensure we can offer an effective response to the worst humanitarian crisis of our lifetime."

In related news, it was recently announced that Central Applications Office (CAO) points are set to rise this year due to high application numbers and grade inflation linked to adjustments to this year’s Leaving Cert exams.