A maintenance grant is available to PLC students pursuing approved courses within the State.
Tuition students and students in receipt of a Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) or Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS) payment are not eligible to receive a maintenance grant.
The maintenance grant is a contribution towards day-to-day living costs which is paid directly to eligible students through nine monthly instalments over the course of the academic year. Maintenance grants are paid at adjacent and non-adjacent rates. The adjacent rate is paid when a student’s college is less than 30km from their normal residence. The non-adjacent rate is paid when a student’s college is 30km or more from their normal residence.
The table below outlines the income thresholds in bold and the associated annual maintenance grant rates for PLC students.
Income thresholds may increase based on Dependent Children and/or Relevant Persons in further and higher education.
*To be eligible for the Special Rate of maintenance grant:
- you must be eligible for the ordinary rate of grant;
- the reckonable income must not exceed the special rate thresholds;
- and on 31 December of the previous year to your application, the reckonable income must include one of the long-term Department of Social Protection eligible payments as prescribed in the Student Grant Scheme for the relevant year or its equivalence from an EU Member State.
