Trinity students who did not receive a €250 coronavirus grant – approved by the government in the last budget – through SUSI will instead have the money transferred into their bank account or go towards outstanding college fees.
Students in receipt of the SUSI grant were given the grant in December, or will receive it by February 9th.
The government will send €250 to students not in receipt of a SUSI grant through their Trinity student account before February 28th. If there are outstanding fees on a student’s account, the money will automatically go towards paying that debt back.
Students without outstanding fees will have the money transferred to their bank account, as long as their bank details in their “My Finance” section of the myTCD student portal is up to date.
If bank details are not up to date for continuing students, the money will go towards their fees for next year.
Only full-time students from the EU that are registered in Trinity by November 2020 are eligible for the grant.
Many of higher education’s biggest stakeholders were confused when the government announced the €250 grant in Budget 2021.
Speaking to The University Times at the time, Lorna Fitzpatrick, president of the Union of Students in Ireland (USI), said that the budget “goes some way to acknowledging the impact of COVID-19, and the financial situation that students and their families are in now, but it doesn’t recognise the longer-term financial pressures that students face”.
Fitzpatrick expressed disappointment that the government had ignored calls made by USI in its pre-budget submission to reduce the student contribution charge. USI had called for a €500 reduction in the student contribution fee – totaling a €39.3 million investment – with an eye to incrementally abolishing the fee.
The Irish Universities Association (IUA) also expressed discontent with the budget, describing it as “a missed opportunity for real change”.
In a press statement at the time, Jim Miley, director general of IUA, said: “The universities have clearly shown their capacity to support society during the Covid crisis. They are equally eager to support the National Recovery and the investment measures we proposed would have enabled this to a great extent.”
