By Cianna McNally

Correspondance is to be sent to the Minister for Education Mary Coughlan from Monaghan County Council requesting her to consider reducing the third level registration fee of €1,500.

Members of Monaghan County Council approved the Higher Education Grants Scheme at their June monthly meeting on Tuesday. Sinn Féin councillor Matt Carthy described the €1,500 registration fee as “excessive” and “third level fees by the back door.” This year’s Leaving Certificate students were also encouraged to submit their applications for the Higher Education Grants as soon as possible.

The income limits for entitlement to all rates of support for students in receipt of the standard rates of grant are to remain unchanged. There is also no change to income thresholds for families where two or more children are pursuing a course of study listed in the schemes.

The main changes to terms and conditions of the schemes are listed below:

* Some Social Welfare allowances, including the Back to Education Allowance and the One Parent Family Payment (except where paid to the candidate) which has been excluded in the means testing process, will be included as reckonable income in assessing eligibility for student grants.

* The income tax adjustment for farm stock relief will be disregarded in calculating reckonable income for means-testing purposes.

* The residency requirement in the state for grant eligibility will be increased from one year to three out of the past five years for the student.

* The duration of the break in studies required for re-entry as an independently assessed mature student will be increased from one year to three years.

* Wording in respect of certain categories in the Nationality clause has been updated. There have been changes in relation to the time limits for making an appeal.

* In addition, as previously announced ion the budget from September 2010 all new applicants who are in receipt of the Back to Education Allowance for all schemes, and the VTOS allowances for those pursuing PLC courses, will be ineligible for maintenance grants.

Students are now able to download copies of the forms from www.studentfinance.ie or from the website www.monaghanvec.ie by clicking on the 'College Grants' link.