"Stop the hardship for Donegal students" 26.10.07

A DONEGAL senator has accused the Education Minister of "reneging" on her promise to speed up delivery of student maintenance grants.

Senator Pearse Doherty said Minister Mary Hanafin assured the Dáil last December that the Student Support Bill would be introduced by early 2007 to eliminate "distressful late payments" of grants to students. Typically, the grants can be up to four months late. “We wrote to Minister Hanafin in August of this year, again outlining our concerns for students' financial well being during the coming academic year due to the Bill not being introduced as promised," said the Sinn Féin senator. “Those
who suffer most are students from low income and rural families. With grant payments delayed by up to four months many have to borrow to enable them to pay rent and utilities. "In extreme cases some can be faced with no option but to drop out. This is particularly applicable for a region such as Donegal where the unemployment rate is at 18%." Sinn Féin also said the grants still failed to cover a number of additional costs associated with third level education, such as rent, essential equipment, travel and childcare. "All of these are huge education barriers to young people from rural areas," added Senator Doherty. “There can be no further delay in the progressing of the Student Support Bill by Minister Hanafin. Sinn Féin supports 100%, the USI in their demand for the Bill to be urgently enacted.”
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