Student at a loss as to why payment delayed

SINÉAD O’CONNELL is one of hundreds of students around the country still waiting for her first grant payment as the long first terms nears its end.

The mother-of-two from Youghal, Co Cork, is in her final year of a three-year social studies degree at University College Cork.

She submitted the grant application by early September after getting her exam results. She submitted additional paper work in early November, but she said she heard nothing from Cork County Council until it promised an imminent decision earlier this week.