241 Pizza

To lessen the impact, O’Keeffe is looking at the Australian system whereby students pay back their fees via the tax system once they graduate and earn over a certain amount.

Another concern about the possible reintroduction of fees is that students will find themselves with much higher debts, as they do in the UK.

“The average student in the UK comes out with a debt of £39,000,” Kelly claimed. “The more they get paid, the quicker they can pay off the loan without paying interest — this means they are looking for highly-paid work such as in law and accountancy and fewer are going into the middle-income brackets such as teaching and nursing. So the effects on society are much more widespread than just the issue of paying fees.”

Many Irish students, Kelly argues, have loans already. Some 60% receive no financial support from their family so they either have to work or borrow to get themselves through.

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Even without fees, the students’ union calculates it costs ¤38,000 to obtain a degree in terms of food, accommodation, and other materials.

With the reintroduction of fees, Kelly says the cost of getting a degree will go up to ¤75,000. “Imagine being a parent with three teenagers,” he says. “Where are they going to find ¤240,000 to put all of them through college?”

While nothing has been decided yet, just having the debate has cast an air of uncertainty over students from families where parents have high incomes who are thinking of going to college from 2010 onwards.

Guide to applying for a grant

Who is in charge? If attending university, teacher training or RCSI (Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland), your local authority administers grants. All other third-level grants go through your vocational education committee. www.ivea.ie has a list of vocational education committees (VECs) nationwide, or contact the association on 01 496 6033.

Are you eligible? Find out from the scheme notebook, available from a VEC/local authority office or on www.education.ie, the Department of Education and Science's website. It has details of income limits, eligibility criteria and rates of grants.

What documentation is needed? All documents must be the originals. The requirements are: long-form birth certificate; evidence of nationality (a copy of your passport, certified by the Gardai, is sufficient); evidence of exam results; P21; P60.

Key dates The deadline for submission is August 31. The forms are usually available mid-July. Call early in the summer so that they can send them out to you as soon as they’re ready.

Keep in mind To be extra prepared, download a practice version from www.citizensinformation.ie (see below). Once you've received an offer, you must follow up with an FA1 form notifying the grant administrators that you got through.

Important links www.ivea.ie -the umbrella body for VECs. The IVEA has contact details for your local committee and advice on grants. www.citizensinformation.ie -follow the links to fees and support for third level education. This goes through the rules and criteria, as well as providing a sample form. www.education.ie -follow links to financial support schemes for frequently asked questions about funding third-level education. In the students and trainees section you can also download the scheme information pack, which sets out the eligibility criteria. www.studentfinance.ie – information on financial support for further and third level education. Promising a step-by-step guide to eligibility for a grant, it's also a one-stop shop for information on other sources of support, such as the Back to Education Allowance and the Millennium Partnership Fund.

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