Clare County Council will not withhold student grant payments

CLARE County Council’s decision to ask approximately 800 third-level maintenance grant applicants if their parents had paid the €100 Household Charge provoked a storm of local and national protest this week.

The Union of Students of Ireland has warned it will initiate legal proceedings against any local authority that withholds a student grant over failure to provide evidence of the Household Charge payment.

 

Clare County Council, in a statement, said it has not, at any stage, indicated that grant payments would be withheld from applicants that have not paid the household charge. “Applicants who have completed forms and provided the necessary information will have their payments issued as expeditiously as possible. Applicants who do not provide the requested information will be requested to submit complete applications, which may result in delay,” according to the statement.

Speaking in the Dáil on Wednesday, Taoiseach Enda Kenny confirmed Clare County Council is not entitled by law to reduce or withhold a portion of the third-level grant that is due as a result of the non-payment of the Household Charge.

He confirmed no money has been withheld by the council in respect of higher-education grants and noted it is entitled to secure as much information about the numbers who have paid the household charge as is required in law.

The council reiterated on Wednesday it was never its intention to delay or withhold the payment of third-level grants to second, third and fourth-year students, regardless of whether their parents had paid the Household Charge and merely initiated this measure as part of its “public awareness campaign” about the public services that are funded by the collection of money from the charge.

It also stressed the information provided by grant applicants would not be used by council personnel for the collection of the charge and confirmed the decision was taken by members of its senior management team.

A council spokesman explained if an applicant doesn’t indicate whether or not the Household Charge is paid, this application is considered incomplete.

Last year, the council processed 1,600 third-level grant applications, of which 1,100 were approved.
This year, it expects to process between 700 and 800 applications.

Three staff members were involved in processing applications at a cost of €120,000 last year, which was not reimbursed by the Department of the Environment. Two people are employed this year at a budgeted cost of about €91,000.

The Household Charge was introduced to provide funding for local services such as the assessing and processing grants, for which there is no charge to the customer in terms of a grant application fee.

Environment Minister Phil Hogan told the Dáil on Wednesday more councils should show “the same level of activity” as Clare County Council.

“Clare County Council and the management there are doing no more or no less than any other county manager or city manager,” Mr Hogan said.

“They’re asking people and they’re putting in place plans to get in the remaining monies that are owed to them. That’s what any businesses would do.”

However, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin questioned whether it is legal. “I think they are out of order, to be frank,” he said. “I would question the legal basis of what Clare County Council is doing.”

Over 50 students from Limerick Institute of Technology (LIT), Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT), National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) and the University of Limerick (UL) participated in a protest outside Clare County Council’s head offices on Tuesday.

LIT Students’ Union vice-president, Chris Walsh, who is from Shannon, insisted it is unfair for the council to try and penalise students for a charge their parents haven’t paid.

Mr Walsh urged the council to withdraw this letter as students are already struggling to pay registration fees, which have increased to €2,250 this year.

His views were shared by other Clare students interviewed, who stressed there should be no link whatsoever between student grant applications and the Household Charge.

It was also attended by members of Clare Sinn Féin whose local party spokesperson, Anne Hayes, stressed it is immoral to threaten a person’s grant because of something their parents haven’t paid.

While Mayor of Clare, Councillor Pat Daly acknowledged that the communication about this new measure could have been better, he criticised Minister Hogan for putting pressure on the council to collect the Household Charge by threatening to withhold up to €950,000 if the collection rate didn’t reach a satisfactory level.

He welcomed the council’s decision that no Clare third-level student would be deprived a college grant if their parent didn’t pay the Household Charge.

The lack of consultation with councillors before this decision was taken was criticised by councillors.
At a Killaloe Electoral Area meeting on Wednesday, Councillor Pascal Fitzgerald said, “I am very disappointed with the way this was done. We, as councillors, represent a lot of people in relation to grants and this was very badly done and very badly organised. It was embarrassing for us as councillors.”

Councillor Michael Begley said there is a place where it is appropriate for the council to seek information regarding people’s tax affairs when they seek grant aid but he commented this situation “is not even in the same category. There is no relationship between them whatsoever”. He urged the council to “seriously withdraw” from this practice immediately.

Councillor Pat Hayes said his concern is that those making enquiries about this issue are being told if they haven’t paid the Household Charge, they would be put to the bottom of the queue.

“I know of someone who went out and borrowed the money to pay their Household Charge because they could not afford it but didn’t want to see their child’s education penalised as a result,” he said.

“It is wrong to put people into debt and all this did was scare a lot of families yesterday. The situation makes us look stupid as councillors and the council could have given us the courtesy of letting us know that this was going to happen,” Councillor Hayes added.

Michael McNamara, senior executive officer, Corporate Services, said he would record the members’ concerns and pass these concerns on to management.