I raise the student registration fee and the decision that was taken in the budget to reduce it by €1,000 for this academic year. That is something I welcome, but there seems to be some confusion within colleges as to how the reduction is to be applied. I have been contacted by a number of students who make the payment twice over the course of a year. They have been hit with a bill and the colleges are demanding immediate payment of a student registration fee of €1,500 in addition to student levies and charges of €196.75 on top of that. Some students are being told that if it is not paid by this Saturday they will be formally removed from their course. In addition, they are being told that they must pay the remainder of the €1,500 in the new year. There is no application of the reduction of €1,000 in the registration fee. It is not just one college.

I thank Deputy Brady and call the Tánaiste to respond.

I have heard it from a number of colleges. There are serious concerns as to how this is going to be implemented.

I am very happy to get information on any specific cases the Deputy has come across. From the Government's perspective, the situation is very straightforward. If a student is levied with an undergraduate registration fee of €3,000, the fee has now fallen to €2,000. If the fee was paid in full, which approximately 20% of students have done, they get a €1,000 rebate. For those who have not paid the fee in full, €1,000 will be knocked off the outstanding amount. If there are any issues the Deputy wants to bring to my attention, I am very happy to pursue them.