Dáil Éireann debate -
Thursday, 13 Apr 2000

Vol. 518 No. 2

Adjournment Debate. - Student Support Schemes.

Mr. McGinley

I thank the Chair for the opportunity to raise this important matter. Currently there are over 13,000 students from this country studying at third level institutions in Northern Ireland and Britain. In Northern Ireland alone there are 3,200 such students, many from County Donegal and other Border counties. Many of these students qualify for third level maintenance grants, currently amounting to £1,690 per annum. This is provided so students can meet the cost of their accommodation, food and other miscellaneous expenses they encounter during the course of the academic year. However, for those studying in this country, with the huge increase in accommodation costs, the grant is barely able to meet the demand. In many instances the entire maintenance grant goes to meet the cost of accommodation alone and does not cover food and other essential costs.

The position is far more serious for Irish students studying in Northern Ireland and Britain; it is critical. This is due to the fact that when the IR£1,690 is converted into sterling it is reduced by at least 25%, leaving the student with an annual maintenance grant of approximately £1,200 sterling. As a result it becomes extremely difficult, if not impossible, for these students to cope with the many financial expenses they incur during the academic year. The cost of accommodation in Northern Ireland and the United Kingdom has increased dramatically in recent years and it is as expensive as it is in Dublin and other Irish university locations.

Students who depend on maintenance grants to attend third level courses have qualified because of their outstanding academic records. Third level institutions assign their students a tremendous amount of work. Students should use their time to pursue their academic goals and should not have the added pressure of worrying about whether they can afford accommodation or food during the academic year. A diminishing maintenance grant should not be allowed to continue since the recipients come from low income families. The conversion to sterling not only places an intolerable burden on the student but also on their families. These families are forced to make a variety of sacrifices to help their children to obtain an education but they willingly make them. However, these families should not have to make such extreme sacrifices to help their children receive third level education. The Minister must and should take steps to remedy this serious problem.

The maintenance grant is grossly inadequate and needs to be addressed. A sum of approximately £1,600 is insufficient to cover the expenses for which it is intended. The grant for those who study in Northern Ireland and the UK should be £1,690 sterling to cancel the 25% on the exchange rate. It is widely recognised that the standard of education, training and skills of our young people has contributed most to our economic success. They can adapt and apply themselves to every demand.

If we are interested in maintaining this high level of economic achievement we simply cannot afford to place barriers on the route to further and higher education. It is impossible for third level students, particularly those in Northern Ireland and the UK, to survive on the present maintenance grant. Generous increases must be sanctioned along with an extra allowance to meet current exchange losses for those studying in Northern Ireland and the UK. I urge the Minister to address this grave matter before serious damage is done.

Ms Hanafin

Since 1996, the student support schemes have been extended to provide maintenance grants to under-graduate students pursuing approved third level courses in other EU member states. Prior to this, such grants were only payable to students pursuing approved courses in the Republic and Northern Ireland.

In this context, following discussions with the local authorities regarding the necessary administrative arrangements, it was agreed that students pursuing approved courses in other EU member states, including Northern Ireland, would be paid the value of the grant in the currency of the country in which they were studying. It was further agreed that the value of the maintenance grant to be paid, in all circumstances, would be the Irish value converted to the currency of the relevant country in which the student was studying, at the prevailing exchange rate. The Department of Education and Science confirmed these arrangements in a letter of November 1996 to all local authorities and vocational education committees and a reminder was issued in December 1997. These arrangements are included in the terms of the annual higher education grants scheme.

Previously, students studying in Northern Ireland were paid the grant in sterling, without reference to exchange rates. Those studying in Northern Ireland who were assessed under the student support schemes prior to 1996 continue to receive their grants in sterling, without reference to exchange rates. Students who commenced their studies from 1996 are paid under the revised arrangements.

Following representations in December 1999, the Department advised local authorities and vocational education committees that grants payable to students studying abroad could be paid in Irish pounds, where the student so requested. The Minister for Education and Science is satisfied that the current arrangements are equitable and efficient. While he appreciates the current exchange rate difficulties with sterling, the Mini ster is not in a position to supplement grant aid for students pursuing courses in Northern Ireland or elsewhere in the EU. Moreover, such an approach could well give rise to anomalies and to claims of inequitable treatment between students studying in different countries.

It has been the practice in recent years to increase maintenance grants in line with inflation as measured by the change in the consumer price index for the period mid-February to mid-February each year. The value of a full maintenance grant for the current academic year is £1,690 at the non-adjacent rate and £676 at the adjacent rate. Some 55% of certificate and diploma students in the technological sector and 35% of students in the university sector are eligible for maintenance grants. In the 1998-99 academic year, almost 47,000 students received grants under these schemes and the overall cost of the schemes for 1999 was approximately £100 million. It has also been the practice in recent years to increase the reckonable income limits for grant eligibility in line with movements in the average industrial wage.

The Minister is committed to ongoing improvements in third level student support schemes, including increasing the value of maintenance grants and increasing the income limits as resources permit. This Government's priority in relation to the area of student support has been to honour the commitment in An Action Programme for the Millennium to introduce equitable support for students attending post leaving certificate courses. This commitment has been honoured by the introduction, in 1998, of a maintenance grants scheme for students attending PLC courses. The grants payable under this scheme are at the same level as the third-level maintenance grants.

The position of mature students in general and independent mature students in particular, under the student support schemes has also been addressed. The rate of maintenance grant payable is determined by reference to the distance from the student's normal residence to the college which he or she is attending. In the case of independent mature students, their normal residence is taken as their address while in attendance at college. Accordingly, a large proportion of independent mature students only qualified for the lower adjacent rate of grant. With effect from the current academic year, all eligible mature students qualify for the higher non-adjacent rate of maintenance grant.

The Deputy will appreciate that all improvements in the third level student support area must have regard to overall resource constraints and competing demands in the third level sector. The need to target resources at those most in need is well recognised and underpins the Government's approach to tackling disadvantage. There is provision within the national development plan for a third level access fund totalling £95 million over the lifetime of the plan. The fund will provide additional financial support for disadvantaged students on top of the existing maintenance grants schemes. Departmental officials are developing proposals for the Minister's consideration in relation to these financial supports and he will announce the details of the new arrangements in due course.

The Dáil adjourned at 5.10 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 18 April 2000.