Grant Policy

Agent Smith

Just Thought this might be the Place to Post this.

The Dublin Regional Council of Young Fine Gael Passed the following Policy Document yesterday at Dublin Day. which will be put forward at Conferance Later on this Year.

Dublin Regional Council

Young Fine Gael

DRC POLICY DOCUMENT

The Higher Education Grant:

We in Dublin Young Fine Gael are calling for the restructuring of the present system of third level maintance grants to help ensure that students benefit from a fairer and easier system of accessing maintance grants to help them with further education. We are also seeking redress of the inequalities relating to the present system.

Currently under the present system students who qualify for maintaince grants have to apply to their local county council to recieve a grant in what is already a very disjointed system . We are calling for a centralised system where issue's relating to applications and payments of maintance grants will be dealt directly by a specialised section of the Department of Education and Science. This would help prevent delays in payment of grants which can cause students a lot of unnecessary distress each year.

The number of private third level colleges in Ireland has risen rapidly in recent years. They play a significant part in an evolving economy thats moveing away from a manufacturing based workforce to a highly educated and skilled workforce. Private third level colleges also give opertunities to students who have for whatever reason have not reached their full potential in the leaving certificate examinations and or have been unsuccessful in the points race for their chosen course's.

Most private third level colleges offer a number of scholarships to disadvanaged students each year. These students meet the requirements under the means test for the maintaince grants yet because they have chosen to study in a private institutions they are refused immediatly without due consideration. Other students who are unlucky not to recieve scholarships are forced to take out crippling loans or work one or more jobs to pay for their chosen course of study, even if they did recieve maintanice grants these grants would not cover the costs for some of the course fee's. This is discrimination. Maintaince grants are issued on a means test bases's. Yet students who qualify under the means test are refused because of their chosen college of study. We are seeking the redress of this inequality.

Dublin Young Fine Gael wish to see an efficient centralised centre for maintaince grant applications within the Department of Education and Science and also that the maintaince grants be extended to all third level students who qualify under the means test crieteria and not whether their chosen place of study is public or private.

Please Note. THIS IS NOT OFFICIAL POLICY Just yet. it has to pass at congress.

Judging by the reception it got yesterday, Hopefully It will be soon.

(i'm going to post this in Mature & Non-Traditional Students and the MyGrants.ie Forums. if there is any objections, feel free to do what you wish)

Just one point, if the motion is entitled the Higher Education Grant, those on the Vocational Education Committees' Scholarship Scheme, Third Level Maintenance Grants Scheme for Trainees, or the Maintenance Grants Scheme for Students Attending Post Leaving Certificate Courses may get offended

Info on the 4 grant schemes (which are basically the same, give or take) : http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/education/third-level-education/fees-and-supports-for-third-level-education/maintenance_grant_schemes_for_students_on_third_level_courses

To be honest agent smith, this policy doesn't really say anything that USI haven't been talking about for years. I agree with it, but is there anyone proposing a change to the existing methods of qualification for the grant? Someone mentioned to me previously (indeed, he was in FG!) that to have a 2 or 3 tier system for residency would be better, that instead of 15 miles (as it was then) for the adjacent/non-adjacent requirement (which would mean a difference of the top grant of up to 2000 euro) that a set of bands be set up with 5 miles, 10 miles, 15 miles etc. I think that was an excellent proposal, and the type of thing I'd love to see people propose.

Since I've started ranting (!), the other thing which I'd like to see is for grants to be applied for online, but that's something which is far far away. Most of the documentation that is needed is in various government departments anyway (such as your birth cert, CAO number, income tax information, in fact revenue.ie covers a lot of what's required, Social Welfare, etc.) - but even wishing so just gives me the impression of another PPARS debacle occurring.

Edit: One other thing - what about supporting part-time students? The only thing most of them are entitled to are tax-relief on their fees. Do you think they should be entitled to grant/financial support?

Edit II: Another thing: What about a change to the assessing of students? Lets say I just finished college having supported myself (with proof of bills etc. under my name) for years. However, I'm 22. I go straight into postgraduate study, and although I've supported myself for years and haven't relied on my parents for years I still cannot apply for a grant due to my being under 23 (and that I'm assessed on my parents' income, thus leaving me ineligible), although in the eyes of everyone I'm independent. Is this fair? Should this be changed? Perhaps between 20/21 and 23 a fourth category should be set up (as opposed to 'other than mature candidate which covered everyone under 23 at present', 'independent mature candidate' and 'dependent mature candidate') which assessed students going into further study. Hardly an adequate solution since it'd still leave some out of bounds, but it'd certainly help students pursuing further study who, if they were 23, would be eligible for a grant.