Students abroad may lose Erasmus funding

Students studying abroad under the Erasmus programme could be stranded without their EU monthly grant from January if a row over funding between member states is not resolved quickly.

Education Minister Rory Quinn admitted it could become a serious problem, with around 2,500 Irish students spending an academic year abroad, mostly in France, Spain, or Germany.

Such students receive a small grant, averaging €250 a month, but rely on the scheme to set up the arrangements. The Erasmus programme also organises placements with companies abroad and opportunities for teachers.

The student funding has become caught up in the row between member states on funding and so far they are refusing to approve €90m to pay for the 240,000 students abroad this year.

The Commission says there is enough money in the system to pay for those students who are currently abroad, but not for the semester after Christmas.

The member states help select and approve the students selected for the Erasmus programme and refund the European Commission for the grants.

A new, extended version of the Erasmus programme, which has seen close to 2.5m students going abroad over the past 25 years, has been prepared for the next EU funding period of 2014 to 2020.

This Erasmus for All scheme has been selected by the Government as one of its priorities for the EU presidency. Mr Quinn said that while the Commission may find funding to plug the immediate gap, it will mean borrowing from next year’s budget — and that would create even bigger problems in the future.