Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am taking this important matter on behalf of the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn, and I thank Deputy McConalogue for raising it. The Deputy is referring to a recent announcement by Bank of Ireland regarding its postgraduate loan initiative for current and prospective students, providing finance for fees and living costs. The approach to dealing with the current difficulties in the public finances has meant that in making very difficult choices, the burden has been spread as fairly as possible.

New students entering postgraduate courses from the 2012-13 academic year onwards will not be entitled to maintenance payments under the student grant scheme. However, payment of tuition fees is being maintained for those who are least well off. In the circumstances, the Department, with support and advice from the National Treasury Management Agency, met a number of commercial providers to discuss the provision of a loan product to enable postgraduate students to have access to credit to meet the cost of pursuing their studies. Following these discussions, Bank of Ireland developed a proposal for a postgraduate loan initiative which was launched on 7 August.

The features of the postgraduate student loan are considerably more flexible and affordable than standard unsecured personal loans. I understand that the repayment schedule provides for a significant period of interest-only payments and that, as the loan is variable, the student can pay off the balance of the loan early, without any fees or charges, to further reduce the overall cost of credit. In addition to loans for fees, a maintenance loan of up to €2,000, which will be paid directly to the student, is available to those students who previously received a maintenance grant at undergraduate level. This will help to ensure the additional loans being made available for living costs are targeted towards those who need them most. Full information on the terms and conditions of the loan is available from Bank of Ireland.

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