Grants cover only 25% of the cost of going to college, says think-tank

COLLEGE grants for disadvantaged students are now covering as little as a quarter of the cost of higher education, a Government think-tank has found.

An Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) study compared the real value of student support grants from 1973 to 2005, and found they have only increased nominally in terms of spending power for students.

While the payment to a student living away from home in 2006 was around €3,000, the €400 payable in 1973 was the equivalent of €2,750 in 2006 terms.