Q: I'M not quite sure about tuition fees for Irish students in English universities for 1998. I'm interested in some health related courses and would like to know what that situation is too. Do you think that fewer students will apply to UCAS because of the fees?

- Galway student

A: EU law requires all EU students studying abroad in EU member states to be treated as resident students. As a result of the changes announced in 1997 in the funding of higher education by the British government which involved the introduction of tuition fees, the Department for Education and Employment (DFEE) published a leaflet called Investing in the Future: Help with Tuition Fees for European Union students.

All EU students will be asked to pay up to an expected maximum of £1,000 per year on undergraduate courses but fees will be means-tested. Those whose families earn between £23,000 and £35,000 will probably be asked to pay only a portion of the full fee and those on incomes under £23,000 may not have to pay anything.

Irish students should apply as before to the local education authority (LEA) in whose area the college which the student will attend is situated. The DFEE will undertake the full assessment of the applicant's financial resources and what if any fee support should be made by the LEA for the 1998 academic year. The LEAs will continue to be the initial and final point of contact for EU students as they are now.

Another leaflet, Financial support for students: A Guide to Grants, Loans and Fees in Higher Education 1998/99, has been published this month by the DFEE but there is no significant change in the details as they affect EU students, so the facts in the first leaflet still stand.

As regards health related courses, the National Health Service (NHS) will continue to fund some courses on a discretionary basis in subjects such as physiotherapy and radiography as before. You should check with the individual college.

So if you are unable to get a bursary from the NHS, apply to the relevant LEA in the normal way. Information from the British Council, Newmount House, 22/24 Lower Mount St, Dublin 2 - phone (01) 676 4088/ 6943.

Applications to UCAS for 1998 are down by 2.7 per cent. This will make very little difference to uptake in August. However, the introduction of fees will probably mean that students may be more inclined to stay closer to homes.

Remember that postgraduate courses (other than teaching) will not generally be funded. Don't forget, too, that if you are eligible for a maintenance grant here, you can now transfer that grant to any college in Northern Ireland or Britain.

Q: I'm finishing a three-year degree course in an English university and have been offered the chance of doing a postgraduate course with the possibility of gaining a PhD starting next autumn. What about getting funding for this?

- Tipperary student

A: The only type of post-graduate course eligible for funding is the post-graduate certificates of education (PCE). If you're already attending a degree course in 1997/98 and will have an award for it and you are going on to a PCE course immediately after completing it (ignoring any college vacation between the two courses), you will be eligible for funding. Other than that, there is no public funding available.

The British Council in Ireland - Newmount House, 22 Lower Mount Street, Dublin 2, phone (01) 676 4089 - offers a limited number of scholarships with closing dates early in the year (usually January). Of course, it's worth checking with your own college for any scholarships that may be available also.

Q: In addition to applying for nurse training here, I'd like to have an option of applying to Northern Ireland and Britain. Where do I apply and what are the entry requirements?

- Donegal student

A: Applications for degree courses in nursing, which can last three or four years, should be made to UCAS in the normal way by December 15th next. It's expected, as will be the case for all other degrees, that you will have to pay £1,000 fees from this autumn.

Entry requirements vary but minimum requirements generally will be on a par with entrance levels for other degrees at three or four higher Cs.

There is also the option of nursing pre-registration diplomas and these are processed separately from the degrees. For Scotland, you should apply directly to the clearing house, the Centralised Applications to Nursing and Midwifery Training Clearing House, (CATCH) NBS, PO Box 21, Edinburgh EH2 1NT. You must be 17 years old and, since recruitment is continuous, students may apply at any time during the year.

Applications to England should be made to the Nursing and Midwifery Admissions Service (NMAS), Fulton House, Jessop Avenue, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, GL50 3SH - this is an offshoot of UCAS. There is a closing date of December 13th each year and applications are accepted from September, just as for UCAS. You must be 17-and-a-half years old.

For both the Scottish and English centralised systems, you must have the results of the Leaving Cert before you apply. There is a small charge for applications.

Applications for places in Northern Ireland and Wales should be made directly to individual schools of nursing. In Wales, the age limit is 17-and-a-half years and applications are accepted throughout the year. Intake is twice yearly.

The situation for Northern Ireland is being finalised at the moment but is expected to be roughly the same. Minimum entry requirements for all nursing diploma courses are five passes in the Leaving Cert but many colleges require more than this. Students who do not have minimum requirements may do the UKDC qualifying test. Information on this is available from the School of Education, University of Leeds, LS2 9JT at a cost of £2.75 stg.

Bursaries are payable for all these diploma courses generally from £4,000stg to £4,500stg and students have full student status while taking them. Further information is available from the British Council, Newmount House, 22 Lower Mount Street, Dublin 2.

Queries can be answered only through this column and not by phone or post. Write to Sile Sheehy, Education & Living, The Irish Times, D'Olier Street, Dublin 2 - or by email to education@irish-times.ie