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Education: Getting Ireland Brexit Ready
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Published on
Last updated on
The UK left the European Union on 31 January 2020 on the basis of the Withdrawal Agreement which was agreed by the European Council on 17 October 2019.
The Agreement includes a transition period until at least the end of 2020. During this time, the EU will treat the UK as if it were a Member State.
During the transition period, the status quo will be maintained and citizens and business should experience no change.
The EU and the UK will start negotiations on a new Future Relationship agreement which, if agreed, is due to come into effect from 1 January 2021.
Many of the arrangements in place regarding education relate to the Common Travel Area with the UK. Where this is the case, no changes to these arrangements are expected.
Further information on what is expected to change and what is expected to remain the same after Brexit is below. For more information on Brexit please see gov.ie/brexit.
Students in both the UK and Ireland regularly receive some or all of their education in either country. This is one of the features of the Common Travel Area that the UK and Ireland enjoy. You can read more about the Common Travel Area on the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website.
Every day, children and young people from Ireland and the UK travel to school in either jurisdiction. This is a matter of choice for families, as to what works best for them.
This choice will continue to be facilitated under the Common Travel Area after the UK leaves the EU.
After Brexit, Irish students will continue to be able to study in the UK and UK students will be able to study in Ireland.
Applications:
For those wanting to study in the UK, applications for higher education places in the UK will continue to be made using current systems.
For those wanting to study in Ireland, the Central Applications Office (CAO) and State Examinations Commission are working with UK counterparts to ensure smooth continuity of the applications process.
Further information will be provided as it becomes available.
Fees:
Irish students will still be eligible for the same rate of fees as UK students in the UK.
UK students will still be eligible for the same fee structures as EU students in Ireland.
Student Support:
Each year, about 1,500 students from Ireland studying in the UK and circa 200 UK citizens studying in the State, qualify for Irish Government grant support (SUSI). During the transition period, the usual SUSI grant rules will continue to apply for UK and Irish students. Once the transition period is concluded, the Irish Government will amend legislation to ensure that these arrangements can continue to apply to eligible Irish students studying in the UK, as well as the payment of SUSI grants to UK students in Irish higher education institutions.
Further education training and opportunities will continue to be available to students and trainees from Ireland going to the UK and vice versa under the Common Travel Area.
The EU’s Erasmus+ 2014-2020 programme provides funding for a range of international education and training projects, including student and staff mobility and exchanges, job shadowing, teaching assignments, and strategic partnerships between organisations.
The programme will continue to operate fully for Ireland and the EU Member States. The future participation of the UK in the Erasmus+ Programme is being considered in the context of the overall negotiations between the EU and the UK.
In the event of a no-deal Brexit, the EU has prepared legislation which will come into effect automatically to ensure that students who are currently ‘on Erasmus’ in UK institutions will be permitted to complete their placement without interruption. This also applies to UK and NI students studying in EU Member States.
Professional qualifications are specific requirements that a person needs to possess by law in order to access or pursue a regulated profession or to engage in regulated activities in a given country. Qualification requirements vary between professions.
Currently, there is EU legislation that allows Irish and UK citizens to have professional qualifications gained in either jurisdiction recognised.
After Brexit, there may be implications for individuals working in Ireland or another EU member state who obtained a professional qualification or licence to practice in the UK. The Government has encouraged regulatory authorities in Ireland to engage with their counterparts in the UK to manage the process for the recognition of qualifications after Brexit.
The recognition of professional qualifications framework between the EU and the UK is a matter to be considered in the context of the overall agreement between the EU and the UK on Brexit.
If you have a query about your professional qualification you should contact the relevant regulatory body for your profession.
For information about recognition of teaching qualifications gained outside of Ireland, or entry to post-graduate teaching courses, please see the website of The Teaching Council.