USI calls for reform of back to education grants

The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) has urged the Department of Social Protection to revise its policy for back to education grants so more lone parents can go to college.

The call comes after single parent Erica Fleming was denied access to the grant, seemingly because she did not meet the strict criteria for lone parents.

The homeless mother-of-one says the decision has jeopardised her place on a social work course at Trinity College Dublin.

The USI has sent a letter to Minister for Social Protection Leo Varadkar asking for the policy to be reviewed.

The union's vice-president Jack Leahy said many lone parents "can't commit to education if they can't access the funding.

“Students often burn out while balancing jobs, study, and exams. Having to do all of this as well as raising children is incredibly difficult and it’s absolutely vital that supports are available to single parents,” he said.

“Erica’s case exposes a clear deficiency in policy arising from what we have always maintained was an ill-considered cut to lone-parent supports in 2015,” he said.

Homelessness

Ms Fleming shot to prominence when she spoke of her experiences living in a north Dublin hotel with her daughter last year.

She has pleaded with the Minister to allow lone parents like herself the chance to get out of “poverty traps”, by facilitating grant aid for higher education.

“If we’re never given the opportunity then we have no way of standing on our own two feet and we will never move away from relying on the State for financial assistance,” she said.

“We, as lone parents, need to lead by example for our children, for the next generation and prove to them that they can succeed in life.”

Responding to a query from The Irish Times, the Department of Social Protection says it cannot comment on individual cases and “does not offer specific supports for students pursuing third-level qualifications outside of the back to education allowance”.