AQW 48874/22-27

Ms Claire Sugden
Independent
East Londonderry

Tabled Date: 17/06/2026
Answered On Date: 26/06/2026
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister for the Economy to detail (i) whether students, ordinarily resident in the Republic of Ireland, are counted within the maximum student number allocation for Northern Ireland universities; (ii) the number of places, within the current allocation, that are occupied by students from the Republic of Ireland; (iii) any assessment that has been made of the impact of that arrangement on the availability of university places for students from Northern Ireland; and (iv) whether her Department has considered excluding Republic of Ireland students from the maximum student number cap.

Answer:

The MaSN cap primarily applies to full-time undergraduate students from the island of Ireland. Students from the south are therefore included in the MaSN.

In 2024/25 there were 3,100 full-time undergraduates from the south enrolled at higher education institutions in the north. The Department monitors the operation of these arrangements on an ongoing basis.

Excluding southern students from the MaSN would mean that alternative sources of funding would need to be found for these students, such as increasing their fees. I am committed to removing barriers to north-south student mobility and increasing fees for students from the south would not support this aim.