Why wasn’t there any money for third level?

STEPHEN Doyle said Budget 2016 looked very encouraging at first glance but ultimately was not as promising as it seemed.

‘The Government is trying to make this Budget look as positive as it can, but there are quite a few issues that don’t really add up,’ he said.

‘I don’t understand why the armed forces are getting what seems like a billion euro based on how well they did in the Mediterranean crisis.

‘Also, there is €50million going to the 1916 Commemoration. That is a lot of money which really should be used for something like re-jigging the Constitution, which is also a product of the last century and could do with a bit of tweaking.

‘Also I’m bothered about the transaction charge for using debit and credit cards which I believe is 12 cent per transaction. Most students don’t carry cash, particularly if they are from abroad, and could easily make 100 transactions a week, which can add up to a lot of money to people who don’t really have very much.’

Mr Doyle, from Wexford, was on the live register for three years before deciding to go to college and improve his opportunities.

He receives a weekly education allowance of €188 which is equivalent to a dole payment, but said the Budget discriminated against mature students.

‘Maybe I’m being selfish here but I don’t see why jobseekers get a Christmas bonus but people like myself who are on a back-to-education scheme don’t,’ he said.

‘We get the same allowance on every other level, so I don’t know why we don’t get that – it is a little bit unfair.’

He said he spent up to €140 every week on rent, food and travel and said the hike on the tax of cigarettes – 50 cents on a pack of 20 – will hit him as he spends around €11 per week on tobacco. But he said he was more worried about issues not mentioned by Michael Noonan.

‘I noticed there was plenty of money put aside for education in first- and second-level schools, but nothing at all was said about third level’, he said.

‘I would really like to have seen something done about student grants as it really affects most of us students, who have very little to live on. I know plenty of people who just don’t return to college in their second or third year because they can’t afford [it].’