Grant problem - advice needed

joannaman

Hi there,

My wife has been offered a place on a master's course in UCD and she submitted her grant application on 1st July in the hope that putting in an early application would mean she'd get an early reply. Now she has to register for the course on 2nd Sept but the grant office have not given an answer yet saying whether she is going to receive the grant (and more importantly the free fees). We have both been in and out of the grant office over the past few weeks trying to get them to hurry up but they keep fobbing us off. I was in there a couple of weeks ago and was told we'd have an answer by now but still nothing. I went in yesterday and was told it'll be in the next 5-10 days but I don't trust them. Now my problem is that we have to move to Dublin for this course and we are actually only going to move if she is approved for the grant/fees, something which I have explained to the grant's office but which they are indifferent to. I'm at a stage now where I want to complain and go above their heads about this as I'm getting the same crap every time I go in but don't know who to complain to. Can anyone suggest what I should do in this situation? I'm in Castlebar, County Mayo.

RoyalMarine

hi joannaman, there would be very little reason to complain and go above their heads about this, as this is how their system works. there are thousands of applications for each county council to sort through, and it does take time. of course, there will always be delays, problems and the usual fobbing people off, but it has been like this for a good few years now.

I was in a similiar situation with waiting for approval and having to move away like yourself, and its daunting not knowing what will be the outcome.

my advice, start looking for accomodation for yourself and your wife in dublin. dont confirm anything with deposits etc. at least that will be one matter resolved. there is still 2 weeks from tomorrow until the course starts. what i would do is drop a very polite phone call every 2-3 days between now and then to the grants office, just asking for an update. the main key here is being as polite as possible. you dont want to annoy anyone as it wont get you or your wife anywhere.

joannaman

Hi Royalmarine,

Thanks for the reply. Yeah, you are probably right. I'll give them til next week and just give them a call every few days after that to see what the story is. I actually did blow a bit of fuse with them yesterday because when I went in to the grants office, the girl at the front desk said there will be no decisions until mid-Sept at the earliest! So I asked to speak to a deciding officer and did try to explain the situation without losing the cool but think I did somewhat! Oh dear...hope he doesn't hold it against me.

joannaman

Got confirmation of the grant yesterday at 5pm via e-mail! Maybe blowing a fuse helped after all I'm grateful to the guy for doing it though. Gonna drop in a box of chocs as a thank you. Phew!