Ninth Level Ireland

“A PhD student will have her monthly grant cut by €400 after a shorter route to her university was calculated via an unnamed road on Google Maps. Niamh Dillon, who is in the second year of her PhD at the University of Limerick, will see her Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) grant cut after the awarding body calculated a shorter distance for her to travel to university …” (more)

[Jess Casey, Irish Examiner, 11 July]

“Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated first and full-year cost of decreasing the non-adjacent rate of third-level grants from 45 km to 24 km; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 10 July]

“Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the cost of decreasing the non-adjacent rate of third level grants from 45 to 24 kilometres; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)

[Dáil written answers, 27 September]

“Deputy Michael McCarthy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the difficulties caused by changes made to adjacent and non-adjacent rates of third level grants for some students in areas such as west Cork; his views on a system that awards the grant on a more graduated basis relative to distance from university; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [45944/12]

“Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Ruairí Quinn): Under Budget 2011, the qualifying distance criterion for the non-adjacent rate of student grant increased from 24kms to 45kms. The proposal to amend the distance to qualify for the higher non-adjacent rate to 45km took into account a reasonable radius in which students could be expected to commute on a daily basis. There are no plans at present to revise the distance criteria.”

[Dáil Éireann Written Answers, 23 October]

“Deputy Arthur Spring asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will consider exempting students in receipt of the non-adjacent education grant living in rural areas without suitable public transport system and who were enrolled in full time third level education prior to the budget of 2011 from the new measures regarding grant allocation introduced in the budget …” (more)

[Dáil Éireann Written Answers, 17 May]