Maintenance grant

20555

I have lived in Ireland for 9 years and my father on the 2nd of October decided to leave me in Wales (my place of birth). I’m 18 and have completed the Leaving Certificate and will need a maintenance grant to sustain myself on my return to Ireland to receive an education .I’m living with my Mother for the next 10 months here in Wales who earns around 10,000 Euro annually. Am I entitled to a grant? I’m an Irish student with the right to citizenship

achmairt

At the time of applying, you must be able to prove that you have lived in Ireland for 3years out of the previous 5 years. If you lived in Ireland up to October this year, you should have no problems.

20555

Another concern of mine is that i'm moving back on my own and my mother will be in Wales.Can i put her income down ?as she's the only parent i have contact with.

achmairt

It may cause a problem if you are here on your own. Have your parents separated. If your dad is in Ireland, it would be better to apply under his income.

20555

Yeah my parents are separated.I have no contact with him anymore.So what are my options?

achmairt

To avoid any problems, you should apply under your father who you were always living with if he has an address in Ireland. YOu won't be able to apply under your own income as you are not 23 yet. If you give a UK address, you won't be able to apply at all. If you're using a UK address, you would be applying to the UK council for a grant for a college in Ireland.

20555

Well i've decided to move back in March.Under the rules of the grant,considering i have no contact with my Father and my Mother will be in a different country wouldn't i be considered irreconcilably estranged from my parents as i'l be living on my own without financial support from both parents.

20555

Also if i'm living on my own and not considered irreconcilably estrange from my parents could i put my Mother's income down but my address?

achmairt

You might have problems with that as you need to prove place of residence for three years. You could be classed as a uk resident if you apply under your mother. If you use your father's address you would not be considered a UK resident as you were only out of the country for a short while and you would be ok for the residency in Ireland. Best to keep it simple and not bog yourself down.

20555

I have bank statements to prove my residency as it show's my transactions while living there.I understand where your coming from but i have no contact with my Father so i can't really do that.

saa

I am financially indepedent also I am estranged from my parents fortunately my dad will do the forms but if he refused to there is nothing that can be done,
I went to a TD to see if I could claim the grant from my own income (none) and it wasn't possible if the VEC or coco see's that you can apply to a council where your mother lives and get a grant in wales to study abroad in Ireland,
Go talk to a VEC or citizens advice but it doesn't look promising although this is an exceptional circumstance but the easiest solution from their point of view is use your mothers address it would different if you had no contact with either.

saa

If you can get free fee's it still might be worth it studying here but its better to get a degree in the UK, I'm in 4th year and all my tutors are urging me to go abroad to get my masters.

20555

Well see i'l be on my own in Ireland but can i use my Mother's income as she only earns 10000 pounds so wouldn't i be entitled to a maintenance as her income is very low? She is willing to put her income down.

saa

if her income is low you'll be entitled to a higher grant than most maybe can depend sometimes on how many siblings you have,

20555

If i'm living in Ireland alone can i still put her income down even if she lives in wales as i'm still classed dependent on her?

saa

yes but that would mean your main adress is your mothers so even though you live in Ireland your funding will be based in wales as far as I know

There are complications with this you need to talk to someone in the know, if you are deemed to be studying abroad you may be liable to fee's but I'm not sure.

saa

you can but you won't be applying through an Irish vec or county council, not even sure how you would apply for the course being based in wales (on paper).

Its like the way I'm based in dublin all year round for 3 years but I can't go to the funding body where I live i have to travel to the midlands where my parent lives.

20555

No what i'm saying is that the course i want to do is in Ireland but my dependent parent lives in Wales.So will i get a grant to study in Ireland if i put her income down?

saa

Yes you can do that but where are you applying for a grant?

20555

In Ireland and because of the new changes it will be the Dublin VEC.What are my chances considering my Mother's very low income?

saa

What are these new changes?
chances are extremely good considering the lowest limit for a household here with less than 4 children is 40k

http://www.ucd.ie/registry/adminservices/fees/info_grants.htm?show=HowDoesTheMeansTestWork

http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/education/third_level_education/fees_and_supports_for_third_level_education/maintenance_grant_schemes_for_students_on_third_level_courses.html

20555

The Dublin VEC takes all new grant application's from 2012.If you have a grant now the original VEC that you applied for will deal with your renewal.Thanks for the links.So my Mother's income despite being UK income can be taken into account,i was just wondering if her location could prevent me from getting a grant?