Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 October 2018
135. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated full year cost of continuing the restoration of postgraduate grants with the restoration of the partial band rate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [44240/18]
View answerAs the Deputy will be aware, additional funding of €7m was secured in Budgets 2017 and 2018 to facilitate the reinstatement of full maintenance grants from September 2017, for the most disadvantaged postgraduate students. This benefitted circa 1,000 postgraduate students who met the eligibility criteria for the special rate of maintenance grant for the academic year 2017/18 and reversed the budgetary cut that was imposed on this cohort of students in 2012.
If postgraduate supports and numbers were returned to the pre-2012 level, it is estimated that additional funding of €44.1m would be required on top of the additional €7m secured in recent budgets.
