Local students can now apply for enhanced grants

Local students travelling to Maynooth or Athlone for college may be entitled to a higher third level grant following changes to the eligibility criteria.

Applications for grants for the new academic year are now open and changes to the grants will see significant improvements for students.

From September, maintenance grants will increase by €200; the income threshold for the standard rate of grant will increase by €1,000; and the distance for the higher non-adjacent student grant will be reduced from 45km to 30km.

Welcoming the changes Minister of State Peter Burke said that grant eligibility has been raised with him by a number of families and students in recent years, who just missed out on grants.

“These changes to the grant system will deliver much-needed assistance to students and families across the country. In particular, the non-adjacent rate change will mean that more students from Mullingar may be entitled to an increased rate if travelling to college in Athlone or Maynooth, depending on where they live in the town/county. For example, someone whomay live in Kinnegad travelling to Maynooth may not have been in receipt of the non-adjacent rate, but they can apply to get this reviewed now. The same may go for students who live in Mullingar and who travel to Athlone. If you think these changes may affect your grant rate, please call in to my office and we can ask for your grant to be reviewed in light of these recent changes.

“The €200 increase in the maintenance grant will offer direct financial assistance to over 62,000 students across the country, and increasing the eligibility cut off point by €1,000 will ensure even more students qualify, and more families can access support.

“These are real and tangible changes which will help students and families, and they are in line with the forthcoming Review of the Student Grant Scheme, which will be brought to Government in the coming weeks. Minister Harris has done a lot of work on reforming third level since he entered this department, including significant upscaling in both places and financial assistance for apprenticeships. I am hopeful that more positive change is to come, making attending college more affordable for students and families.”

Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris TD said: “We will continue to make changes to assist students. We strongly believe there is a need to reduce the cost of education for families and we are working with Government colleagues to outline our priorities on how we can help people with these significant costs.

“For any student experiencing difficulties currently, there is a significant allocation to the Student Assistance Fund and I would encourage students to contact their access offices to avail of these funds.”

For more information, visit https: susi.ie.