Sir, - Your report on the distribution of third-level education grants to students from different sectors of society (The Irish Times, October 10th) once again raised an old chestnut that needs to be cracked once and for all. Farmers are a low-income group who place a high priority on education. Therefore, no one should be surprised if they avail of third-level education grants. Isn't that the purpose of grants in the first place - to ensure that students from low-income backgrounds can afford higher education?
The main confusion arises because farm incomes are often assumed to be higher than they actually are and, in particular, because larger farmers are assumed to have large incomes, irrespective of the enterprise involved. A basic fact that media and commentators need to understand is that when it comes to farming, it's what you farm not the size of your farm that matters. So most cattle and sheep farmers would need over 300 acres of land to have an income of £20,000, whereas a dairy farmer on just 100 acres could have that income.
Your headline that "grants go to 23 per cent of large farmers' children" only perpetuates this basic misunderstanding about farm size and incomes. The reality is that the average farm income in 1999 was just £9,100, according to Teagasc, which is less than half of the threshold for grant eligibility of about £20,000. Although almost half of farmers and/or their spouses have an off-farm job, their average combined income was £15,100 from both on- and off-farm sources.
Your report also concludes that students from large farms received grants "intended for parents whose income level was below the eligibility threshold of about £20,000". This threshold is the same for all grant applicants, irrespective of whether they are bus drivers, building workers or farmers. So contrary to your report, farm families did not get grants "intended" for anyone else. Accordingly, the conclusion of your correspondent cannot be supported. - Yours, etc.,
Betty Murphy, Chairperson, IFA National Farm Family Committee, Dublin 12.