Changes to Grants system a sneaky attack on third level education – Carey
Clare Fine Gael TD Joe Carey has today said that changes to the maintainance grants system, announced as part of the Budget, will have huge implications for students from County Clare.
Students from Ennis, Kilrush, Shannon Ennistymon, Kilkee and many other areas will not now qualify for a non-adjacent maintainance grants from September 2011, because of changes brought in by the Government.
The changes will force many student to look at third level institutions outside of those nearest, in an effort to avail of much needed financial assistance.
For those who will quality for grants, their payments will also dramatically reduced.
Deputy Carey said:
“I have had contact from several students extremely worried about the changes in maintainance grants. To be honest, the changes introduced by the Government to the third level maintenance grant scheme have got very little media attention. What the Government has done is changed the qualifying criteria for the non-adjacent grant, and also many qualifying students will see their grant rate dramatically reduced. The new situation is that students will now only qualify for the non-adjacent rate if they live more than 45 kilometres from their college whereas before it was 24 kilometres.
This has huge implications for Clare students who may be studying in Limerick, which is roughly 30 kilometresons for students from County Clare.
Students from Ennis, Kilrush, Shannon Ennistymon, Kilkee and many other areas will not now qualify for a non-adjacent maintainance grants from September 2011, because of changes brought in by the Government.
The changes will force many student to look at third level institutions outside of those nearest, in an effort to avail of much needed financial assistance.
For those who will quality for grants, their payments will also dramatically reduced.
Deputy Carey said:
“I have had contact from several students extremely worried about the changes in maintainance grants. To be honest, the changes introduced by the Government to the third level maintenance grant scheme have got very little media attention. What the Government has done is changed the qualifying criteria for the non-adjacent grant, and also many qualifying students will see their grant rate dramatically reduced. The new situation is that students will now only qualify for the non-adjacent rate if they live more than 45 kilometres from their college whereas before it was 24 kilometres.
This has huge implications for Clare students who may be studying in Limerick, which is roughly 30 kilometres from Ennis. It means that at the stroke of a pen, a large number of third level students will not now quality for non adjacent grants from September 2011.
I am hugely concerned that a large number of local students living in County Clare, and attending third level institutions in Limerick and Galway city, will see their grant payments dramatically reduced or abolished. What it means in effect is that this year the non-adjacent rate for a full maintenance grant was €3,250. The adjacent rate however was just €1,300, almost €2,000 per annum less.
While cutting the maintenanc