In my case (a single BTEA student), my weekly allowance is €124.80 plus annual book allowance of €254. In addition to this I have a medical card and rent allowance. If I lose my BTEA benefit during the summer months, I automatically lose my rent allowance and medical card. I cannot cope with losing my rent allowance for the summer and furthermore when I return to college in September I will not be able to reclaim rent allowance as I have recently been informed that people paying rent over €65 per week cannot claim for rent allowance. I live in Galway City and I pay €85 a week, which is considered a fair rent. If I do try to find another cheaper place to rent I will face a long haul as most cheaper rooms do not accept rent allowance and are of substandard condition. I was only informed of this change this week and was never informed of the cut to my present rent allowance from €57.40 to €53.