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See below for changes to the student grant arising from Budget 2012

The student grant is the main source of financial help available from the Irish State for students in full-time Post Leaving Certificate Courses (PLCs) and full-time higher education undergraduate courses. Support is available to eligible students in most colleges in Ireland as well as eligible Irish students in many colleges in Northern Ireland, the UK and other EU States. For eligible students, the grant is there to help with the various costs of participating in further or higher education. Students on part-time courses, access or foundation courses (in higher education institutions) and short courses are not eligible to apply for a student grant.

Family and/or personal income is a key factor that will be assessed when you apply for a student grant but there are also some other conditions. Studentfinance.ie can help you to assess whether you are eligible and guide you in starting the process. In all cases, the official decision on eligibility is of course made by the grant-awarding bodies.

If you think you are eligible for the student grant, you should apply for it as soon as possible (the application process for 2012-13 is not yet open). You do not have to wait until you receive an offer of a place or enroll in college. Only when your application has been completed in full and submitted to the grant-awarding authority can your eligibility be determined.

Full details on the Student Grant scheme (2011), including associated legislation, are available here.

SUMMARY OF CHANGES TO STUDENT GRANT AS A RESULT OF BUDGET 2012

Three measures were announced in Budget 2012 relating to the student grant schemes:

A: Reduction in overall rates of grant

• A reduction of 3% was applied to the rates of all student grants effective from 1 January 2012
• This reduction applies to all existing grant holders and to new grant holders alike.                                                                                                                                                                                               
  

B: Fees and Maintenance Grants for new entrants to postgraduate studies

• Students entering new postgraduate courses from the 2012-13 academic year onwards will not be entitled to any maintenance payment under the Student Grant scheme
• However, students on the lowest level of income entering new postgraduate courses from the 2012-13 academic year who qualify for the special rate of grant will be eligible to qualify to have tuition fees paid up to the maximum fee limit under the Student Grant scheme
• A limited number of other low-income students who would previously have qualified under the standard grant thresholds will qualify to have a €2,000 contribution made towards the costs of their fees. However, there will be a new income threshold for this payment which will be lower than the standard grant threshold. The income threshold for this level of grant is currently being determined in the context of the formulation of the student grant scheme for the 2012-13 year.

C: Student Contribution

• The student contribution is being increased by €250 to €2,250 from the 2012-13 academic year. All undergraduate students covered by the Free Fees scheme who are eligible for means-tested student support will continue to have the student contribution paid on their behalf in addition to receiving any maintenance grant and tuition fee grant to which they are entitled.