20 February, 2006 - Shake-up of College Grants Payment System – Minister Hanafin

Decision on application within 3 weeks 
Appeals process
Cheques within a month

Students will be guaranteed to get their grant cheques early under new legislation being brought to Cabinet shortly by Minister for Education and Science, Mary Hanafin TD.

Under the new grants payment system, students will get a decision on their application within 3 weeks of the closing date and will receive their grant cheque within a month of the start of the college term, provided they submitted a complete application by 31 May. There will also be an appeals process for the first time for those who have been turned down for a grant and feel that their application should be looked at again.

Announcing her plans, Minister Hanafin said "these reforms are part of the Government's strategy to ensure that students get the support they need when they need it, so that money problems don't stop them from achieving their full potential at college."

The college grants system is the Government's main financial aid package for students, with over 56,000 people benefiting from grants worth over €200 million last year.

"In recent years, the focus has been on increasing grant payment levels and targeting extra support at students from the poorest families through new top-up grants. Indeed, the highest level of grant available is now nearly €5,400, compared to just over €2,000 in 1997," the Minister said. "Now we are overhauling the payments system to ensure that all students get their grants as quickly as possible".

Legislation will be brought to Cabinet within weeks and Minister Hanafin intends to have it passed by the Oireachtas by the end of the year so that the new system can be in place for the 2007/08 academic year.

The new Student Support Bill will provide for a single agency to administer one grant scheme, in place of the four different schemes that operate at present, and will require that the agency meet the new deadlines set by the Minister.

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