Trainees and apprentices will lose allowances or face charges

While student grants are being kept at current levels, trainees and apprentices face the loss of allowances or additional charges from next year.

The department of Education and Skills will pay eligible third-level students the same grant rates next year and, in a move welcomed by the Union of Students in Ireland, has not changed the incomes needed to qualify.

However, a previously-announced €250 increase, bringing student contributions to €2,750, will still go ahead. Apprentices, meanwhile, will face a pro-rata payment for the first time for their period of training at institutes of technology.