The Clare Champion Clare news, sport, entertainment and local notes
There has been a mixed reaction from the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) to education provisions in Budget 2015. USI has welcomed the decision revealed not to cut or otherwise amend the student maintenance grant, which is relied upon by thousands of students who would otherwise be unable to afford third level. The decision to frontload grant repayments to four payments in the first semester, five payments in the second semester, will help students handle the increased start-up costs of study, according to USI president, Laura Harmon. The students’ union sees the decision to return the €25m withheld from colleges in the 2013 and 2014 budgets is good news for education – but represents a drop in the ocean of required investment for third level education – which will experience a 1% cut in wage related and non-wage related expenditures, she cautioned. However, less positive in the budget for students is the decision to stick by pre-planned increases in …
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