Tens of thousands of eligible third-level students in households with incomes of up to €100,000 are missing out on grants aimed at easing the cost of college education.
An estimated 40,000 students from households where combined incomes are €62,000-€100,000 are entitled to a €500 grant for college fees.
However, latest figures show just 18,200 have availed of it so far in the 2024/25 academic year. The closing date for applications is at the end of next month.
The grant reduces the annual student contribution cost from €2,000 to €1,500 for eligible applicants this year.
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Susi, the national authority for higher education grants, is continuing to accept applications for 2024/25 until the end of May.
A spokeswoman for the authority said requests for late applications after this time would be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
Students are being urged to find out if they are eligible for support by visiting susi.ie and using the website’s “eligibility reckoner.”
Household income is defined, in most cases, as combined parental income for students under 23.
Applications for the 2025/26 academic year opened last week and income thresholds for a range of grants are being increased, significantly in some cases.
For the €500 student contribution grant, income thresholds are being raised from €100,000 last year to €115,000 for the 2025/26 academic year.
This is projected to increase the number of eligible students who previously did not qualify by 3,000-4,000.
Income thresholds have also increased for the 50 per cent student contribution grant – worth €1,000 this year – which has climbed from €62,000 to €73,727 for the coming academic year.
Similarly, income thresholds for the 100 per cent student contribution grant – worth €2,000 this year – are up from €55,924 to €64,315.
Students do not need to have received their Leaving Certificate results or to have been accepted on to a higher education course to apply for the grant.
Details of the preferred course of study can be uploaded and then updated depending on which course the student undertakes at a later date.
Applications for grants have opened days after Minister for Further and Higher Education James Lawless signalled that about half of all third-level students who are not eligible for grants could face an increase in college fees of up €1,000 this year if cost-of-living supports are reduced or scrapped.
The €3,000 annual “student contribution” has been lowered to €2,000 for the past three years.
Mr Lawless said last week that lowering college fees across the board by €1,000 over the last three years was not a “progressive” move.
Boosting student grants could be a fairer way of improving access to third level and reducing costs for struggling students, he said.
