This article is from page 9 of the 2012-06-05 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 9 JPG
A LEGAL case involving a thirdlevel student from Ballyvaughan will be appealed to the Supreme Court later this year, in a test case which could see full maintenance grants restored to thousands of students in Ireland.
The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) confirmed last week that they have decided to appeal the case taken on behalf of Medb McCarthy, from Murtyclough, outside Ballyvaughan, after receiving advice from their legal team.
Medb, along with other students Robert Johnson from Monaghan and Iesha Rowan from Oranmore in Galway, are fighting to restore their non-adjacent grants, which were removed following changes in the Department of Education criteria which came into effect in September.
The Student Services Act increases the distance that a non-adjacent student would have to live away from the educational institution from 24 kilometres to 45 kilometres. According to the Minister for Education, Ruairi Quinn (LAB), this change was introduced to reflect the improved public transport and general transport infrastructure in the country in recent years.
Under the new rules, Mebh, who is a third-year Arts student at NUI, Galway, would be considered to live “adjacent” to the university – in an area where commuting each day would be possible.
With no effective public transport in place in the North Clare area, Mebh will not be able to reach Galway City for college each day until after 11am. Despite working to support herself during her time in college, she is not in a position to make up the shortfall in the grants payment.
Mebh is currently in receipt of a grant of between € 6,100 and € 6,700 per year to go towards rented accommodation and maintenance while she studies in NUI, Galway. If the decision is not reversed, it will lead to a loss of between € 2,440 to € 3,900 towards her maintenance in college next year.
The case is being seen as a test case by hundreds of students in Clare who will have their grants reduced if the new system is enforced.
An initial legal challenge was heard in February of this year, with Mr Justice John Hedigan reserving his judgement for more than six weeks while he considered the arguments made.
When the judgement was released in April, Justice Hedigan ruled that grants cuts were in the public interest given the dire financial circumstances facing the country. However, Vice President of the USI, Conor Murphy, confirmed last week that the students organisation would be appealing the decision.