Students of schools in Cork district to be eligible for one MD grant per year

MACROOM COUNCILLORS MADE THE DECISION TO ENSURE THE MD ‘S DISCRETIONARY FUND WOULD BE MAINTAINED THROUGHOUT THE YEAR

STUDENTS heading on trips organised by schools in the municipal district of Macroom will only be able to seek funding from the MD’s discretionary fund once per year following a decision made by local councillors.

At Thursday’s MD meeting, district officer Marie O’Leary revealed that the discretionary fund, which people and groups from the area can apply to for grants usually consisting of €300, is €5,000 for this year and that one of the most recent applicants to it were Coláiste Ghobnatan students taking a trip to Lourdes.

Following this, Mrs O’Leary suggested that applications coming from students of local schools should only receive a €300 grant from the fund once per year to prevent it from running low too quickly.

“As you would have seen, last year there was a number of students that would have applied to go on various trips through transition year through their school, and each one would have applied for €300. I suppose it kind of became quite substantial,” Mrs O’Leary said.

“Would members be agreeable to be considering an application per school? So we’ll say if a student applies to us we’ ll find out how many other students are potentially going on that trip.

“If they applied from St Mary’s, for example, here in Macroom, we’d allocate €300 to St Mary’s. If it’s one student they get the €300, if its three students they get €100 each. But it’s per school because otherwise there is a chance that your fund could disappear fairly lively.

“If the school goes to Lourdes in February and goes to Kolkata in October whichever one they apply for, it will just be the one. Just to be fair to everyone. We don’t want to cut out everyone but the fund is limited. Coláiste Ghobnatan is the first one to come under that.”

The MDO’s suggestion was favoured by the councillors present at the meeting, in which it was proposed and seconded.

Councillor Eileen Lynch said she completely agreed with the suggestion and Cllr Michael Creed acknowledged that if students applied for funding for every school trip they were undertaking the discretionary fund would be gone in no time.

Council chair Ted Lucey said a balance needed to be struck in what applications received funding and Cllr Michael Looney agreed that a €300 grant should be the “cut-off point”.

Cllr Looney also questioned if schools are entitled to seek funding year upon year, and Mrs O’Leary told him that they are but that the council can adjust the requirements for applicants for next year’s fund if they wished to.

Cllr Martin Coughlan also supported the MDO’s suggestion.

“The amount of clubs that are going to be calling over the next 12 months, it wouldn’t be long emptying,” Cllr Coughlan said.