A mere 40% of applicants given a decision on grants

ONE of the country’s busiest college grant-awarding bodies has still not finalised applications from more than half the students seeking financial support.

Cork County Council has received about 1,700 applications for the current academic year which started in October, but only 680, or 40% of all applicants, have been issued with a decision.

The maintenance grants funded by the Department of Education are worth between €345 and €6,690 to almost 60,000 third-level students, depending on their household incomes, and will cost taxpayers €263 million this year.