Third level grant changes to discriminate against farming families – Smith

Fianna Fáil Spokesperson on Education and Skills Brendan Smith TD has expressed his anger at the Government’s decision to change the assessment criteria for third level grants for farming families. Deputy Smith was commenting after the Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn confirmed in writing to the ICMSA that from 2013, farm assets will be included in the means-testing for third level grants.

Deputy Smith has hit out at this policy, describing it as yet another example of the Education Minister’s anti-rural agenda.

“This just pushes third level education further out of the reach of so many families in rural communities across the country,” according to Deputy Smith.  “Minister Quinn has signalled these grant changes since coming into power.  In an interview with the Farmers Journal in March last, he accused farming families and the self-employed of manipulating their income to secure education grants:

“I am reforming the way in which the student grants is going to operate … Up until now there has been a bias towards the self-employed and the agricultural community who were able to quite frankly manipulate their income in a manner in which they could, or their children could, avail of grants” – Education Minister Ruairí Quinn, Newstalk Breakfast, 31 March 2011

Deputy Smith continued, “Minister Quinn’s attitude towards this has been, quite frankly, insulting. It is just more evidence of the worrying pattern that has developed with this Government’s education policies. Small schools and disadvantaged schools have been targeted for significant cuts to teacher numbers from September.  Now the Education Minister has confirmed that he is also targeting farming families for significant education grant cuts from 2013.

Deputy Smith has indicated that Fianna Fáil will use every opportunity to highlight the injustice in these policies. “I intend to oppose these cuts at every turn. Communities will not stand for these discriminatory policies.”