The level of grant aid available to third-level students now covers less than one-third of the real cost of attending college, according to new figures issued by the Union of Students in Ireland. The figures reveal that a student living away from home and attending college can expect to spend £5,517 during a 36-week academic year, or more than £150 per week. This figure includes rent, college capitation fees of £150, books, bills and healthcare. The maximum maintenance grant currently available to third-level students is £1,625, or £45.13 per week.
The education officer of the Union of Students in Ireland, Mr Malcolm Byrne, described the grant as "woefully inadequate" and said that, in financial terms, young people would be "better off on the dole". According to the USI, the real value of the maintenance grant fell by almost 50 per cent between 1982 and 1995. Last year, the grant increased by 5 per cent, the first increase above the rate of inflation in almost a decade. This year the increase was 1.5 per cent.
Figures compiled by Dublin City University (DCU) are more cautious in their assessment but still reveal a significant gap between the level of grant aid available and the real cost of attending third-level education. According to the DCU estimates, students will require just over £4,500, or £125 per week, to support themselves over 36 weeks.
Students living at home are slightly better-off, but the level of grant aid still falls far short of their estimated cost of living. The maximum grant available to such students is £647 per year, or £18 per week. According to the USI, the real cost is closer to £86 per week. DCU puts the cost at £72.
Mr Martin Conry, secretary of DCU, said there was a need to examine the current system and to ensure that those most in need of assistance received the maximum support possible. "It is not enough just to let people participate," said Mr Conry. "They have to be able to participate with dignity." Mr Byrne called on the Minister for Education, Mr Martin, to start a series of "significant phased increases" of about 10 per cent per annum to bring the grant up to an adequate level. "We don't expect the grants to double overnight. Students are realistic enough to realise that is not going to happen."
Fianna Fail's position paper on third-level education, published before the general election, promised "a gradual increase in the present level of the maintenance grant as resources permit". It also proposed raising the qualifying income limits, as well as extending grant aid to the 30,000 students in Post-Leaving Certificate courses who had previously been denied aid under the Higher Education Grants Scheme. These measures are unlikely to be introduced until 1998.