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Sue williams

I am a widow of two children on DA of €248 per week. I have to give my eldest daughter €180 perweek for college, This bearly leaves myself and my other child for money for food for the week. Could i be entitled to money on swa ?

Marsden

Why does your daughter need €180 per week for college? Did she apply to get her fee's paid?

Sue williams

€110 for rent, €30 for buses and €40 for food.

Marsden

I wonder is it possible for her to claim some type of rent allowance. She could also (if its no to late) apply for the student financial assistance, from the College. She can get info from the student union about this. As for your own situation I would go see the citizens advice beaurau to see if they can help.

hdowney

If you are on DA she should have been eligble for and claimed the grant. If she did why are you paying her way, this is what that money is for. If she didn't, why on earth not?

Sue williams

hdowney wrote: »

If you are on DA she should have been eligble for and claimed the grant. If she did why are you paying her way, this is what that money is for. If she didn't, why on earth not?

She gets a €3000 grant because i was working until last year. It is paid in 3 installments of €1000, She has already got €1000 back in october which is spend. She wont be getting the other two installments until February and May

hdowney

Sue williams wrote: »

She gets a €3000 grant because i was working until last year. It is paid in 3 installments of €1000, She has already got €1000 back in october which is spend. She wont be getting the other two installments until February and May

I think then she is going to have to look for a job. I am sorry to say this but it is NOT your responsibility to support her through college, and I am pretty sure the SWA will see it that way. She is an adult, who is getting a grant (I agree not the full amount but still). They will likely see you as 'choosing' to give her that much money out of your DA, because in reality you are. Has she looked for a job? Also why is she paying rent? Is the college far away from your home?

downey2003

Sue williams wrote: »

I am a widow of two children on DA of €248 per week.

Why are you getting 248/week? Are you claiming for both "children"? The one is college presumably is not living at home if she is paying rent, ergo you are not allowed to claim for her.

eastbono

Child is under 22 and in full time education therefore qualifies as a child dependant.
http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Publications/SW29/Pages/8WhatpaymentscanIgetfordependants.aspx

hdowney

eastbono wrote: »

Child is under 22 and in full time education therefore qualifies as a child dependant.
http://www.welfare.ie/EN/Publications/SW29/Pages/8WhatpaymentscanIgetfordependants.aspx

Not if said child is not living at home. You cannot be a dependent and live in your own place. OP mentions that some of the 180 a week she is giving is for rent, which says the child lives somewhere else??

eastbono

hdowney wrote: »

Not if said child is not living at home. You cannot be a dependent and live in your own place. OP mentions that some of the 180 a week she is giving is for rent, which says the child lives somewhere else??

I know the child lives somewhere else but its all in the wording. A qualified child is one who is under 18 and normally resident with you or up to age 22 and in full time education. The child who is in college is normally resident with OP but in order to attend college they have to live near college for the duration of the college year.

meg3178

Sue williams wrote: »

She gets a €3000 grant because i was working until last year. It is paid in 3 installments of €1000, She has already got €1000 back in october which is spend. She wont be getting the other two installments until February and May

You may be able to get the top up grant this year because of your change in circumstances. As soon as the revenue office open, ask for a P21 for 2012 and also apply online to www.welfare.ie for a statement of benefits paid for 2012.
Take both of these to the HEA grant office in the council or VEC where the grant is issued and fill out the form, giving them your proof that your income has changed since your 2011 P21 was issued. You have until the end of May to apply for the top up grant.

hdowney

eastbono wrote: »

I know the child lives somewhere else but its all in the wording. A qualified child is one who is under 18 and normally resident with you or up to age 22 and in full time education. The child who is in college is normally resident with OP but in order to attend college they have to live near college for the duration of the college year.

if they are in full-time education by day at a recognised school or college.

The bit in bold, the by day. Yes it presumably means no night courses, but also a day pupil comes home, they are not a 'boarder' so to speak. I think if the OP goes to the social looking for MORE money to support the child's education they could find themselves getting LESS money cos the child doesn't live at home

hdowney

Sue williams wrote: »

Sorry but i would be pretty crazy to be giving her rent money if we lived near the college in fairness. No her landlady doesn't give her food but she would offer her a sandwitch and a cup of tea an odd time.

Stheno wrote: »

Is she in UCD by any chance?
€110 a week for a room for five nights is incredibly expensive.

I agree 110 for a room, no food seems crazy money. Does she get to use the kitchen to cook food or does she have to buy out all the time? I ask cos it does seem a little to me like the 'landlady' is taking advantage of both you and your daughter if she is taking 110 a week and your daughter has to buy in food and can't use the kitchen. (I am not nitpicking, just trying to help. If you have to be paying out money you want to be getting the best value for it and I don't know if you are).

As to your original question about getting some assistance with paying, I don't think you will. You won't know if you don't try, but I wouldn't get your hopes up to be honest. I don't know if you would have last year, but I know that SWA allowances have been drastically cut back this year, so it'd be harder to get something. By all means apply and if you are lucky you might.

I agree with other posters about trying to see if you can apply to the colleges assistance fund, and hopefully you should get the top up grant this year as your circumstances have changed.

Stheno

Sue williams wrote: »

It is hard to have €400 plus deposit though

She's a grant instalment due in Feb. doesn't she?
That will pay six weeks rent plus a deposit

EMTFlynn

Did she apply for the back to education allowance?

ShaShaBear

EMTFlynn wrote: »

Did she apply for the back to education allowance?

She would need to have been on Jobseekers to be entitled to that.

Regardless, 110 a week in rent is atrocious, Dublin or not! If she got the grant, her fees were paid. The grant is meant to assist in college expenses - I'll assume it was spent on her deposit for her room and rent/food. As another poster said, her payment in February should be more than sufficient to cover rent in cheaper accommodation for a good few weeks. If she gave a deposit for her current room, she should get that back when she hands in her notice. In the meantime, tell her to get a part time job to cover her food and rent expenses. It's not up to you to pay that for her, and €110 a week to live in a room when the home-owner uses the rest of the house is madness! She's clearly taking advantage there.

SW are not going to give you any more money. Unless she is in receipt of SW herself (clearly not since she is getting the grant), she is not entitled to anything else except the Student Assistance Fund.

As for yourself, if your daughter is under 22 years of age, you can get the Back to School Clothing and Footwear allowance. You should also be able to claim for your other child. That's about the height of it, as any SW officer is going to tell you that the money you receive is to provide basic needs for yourself and two children (my mother claimed for me while I was in college, SW knew I lived in Athlone for college and said this was not an issue as it was for the purpose of attending full-time education). Unfortunately, education past the LC is not considered a basic need, which is why your daughter can apply for the grant as financial assistance in her own right.

Also, I'm not sure about the difference in rates, but my mother moved from her SW payment to the Widower's Pension when my dad died (she got more money, and a once-off grant because of her financial circumstances). Maybe look into that as well?

mp22

This forum is for state benefits matters,if you cannot offer any advice on payments/grants ect that the op might be entitled to,please refrain from posting.

I am deleting a number of posts that are not related to the forum.

mp22

eastbono

hdowney wrote: »

if they are in full-time education by day at a recognised school or college.

The bit in bold, the by day. Yes it presumably means no night courses, but also a day pupil comes home, they are not a 'boarder' so to speak. I think if the OP goes to the social looking for MORE money to support the child's education they could find themselves getting LESS money cos the child doesn't live at home

She is entitled to payment for the the child once she is in full time education it doesnt matter if she isnt living at home during college term she is normally resident at home.