To ask the Minister for the Economy, given the economic and social importance of medical professionals, to detail any discussions she has had with (i) the Student Loans Company; and (ii) the Minister of Health, in relation to providing (a) tuition fee loans; and or (b) maintenance support, for students enrolled on medical degree programmes, who have already completed an undergraduate degree.

The Department of Health has policy responsibility for determining the higher education student support available for medical students studying here. My Department holds the legislation specifying the delivery of tuition fee loans and maintenance products and facilitates and enacts, through legislation and operationally, the Department of Health’s policy position.

The introduction of tuition fee loans to support Graduate Entry Medicine courses here followed on from agreement between my predecessor and the Minister of Health, and was delivered through normal channels of engagement with the Student Loans Company (SLC) and the Education Authority (EA).

Any future proposals to alter support for medical degree students will require a comparable process of engagement at official and Ministerial level and the involvement of the SLC and EA as delivery partners.