The Government is due to give more money to third-level education.
However, annual student contribution fees of €3,000 won't be cut immediately.
The issue of third-level fees and investment has been ongoing since 2016, when a report warned the then government it would need an additional €600m a year by 2021 to fund higher education, rising to €1bn euro additional per year by 2030.
The Cassells report said the additional investment is needed due to a growing younger population and to reduce student-staff ratios in lecture halls.
The Higher Education Minister Simon Harris brought a memo to Cabinet looking for approval from Government colleagues to increase funding to help families with the cost of college, as well as grant reforms to allow part-time students access to funding.
Senator Malcolm Byrne is Fianna Fáil's spokesperson on colleges, and says any changes need to be sustainable:
"It can't be a sticking-plaster solution, we've got to be able to address the concerns in the Cassells report that we do need up to €1bn euro in extra investment.
"It's not just about meeting the current demands, we're going through a period of rapid technological change."
But, President of the Union of Students in Ireland, Clare Austick, says the student contribution charge needs to be abolished immediately:
"It's not just the student contribution charge. It's accommodation, it's the rents, it's the cost of living.
"So when we really want to tackle access to education and make it equitable we need to tackle its core."
