Am I eligible for free fees ?

J

josie80

Registered User
Messages
56
Hi everyone,

Have been looking on the internet but can't find anything about it here's the situation....

leaving cert 1998 went straight into a course i hated so left before the end of first year, went straight into another course the next year and paid full fee's the first year second year got free fee's again but half way through second family circumstances forced me to leave again anyhow

i'm due to start in september and am now worried about having to pay full fee's i rang up and it's been over five years, etc so should be normal fee's, anyone been in the same situation & could they shed some light
thanks
 
You have to apply to your local county council for a grant which covers the fees and may give you an additional money grant for the year, this is means tested.
You should be ok for getting the grant if you have no formal qualification despite the fact you got a grant for a year you were in college. If you check the website of your local co co you should get more info or ring them.
What level course are you applying for?
Good luck with it.
 
You want to be careful, there is a difference between 'Free fees' and grants.

Everyone in the state that has lived in an EU country for something like 3 of the last 5 years is entitled to free fees, but once only.

In your case it would appear that you got free fees for first year and second year on two different courses. If you were to go back to college now and do say a full-time honours degree course, you will have to pay fees for the first two years, as the state has already paid for you to do two years at college, you would then be entitled to free fees for years three and four.

I hope I have made sense, but your best bet is to ring the admissions office of the college you want to attend and they should be able to give you all the details.
 

NO!

Free fees and the Grant are 2 seperate things.

You may be eligible for one and not the other. The County Council (and now the VECs) pay the grant directly to the student.

The free fees are paid directly to the University by the Department of Education to cover the fees of the student. The student never "receives" the free fees themselves, they just don't have to worry about paying the - full stop.

If you wish to clarify your elgibility for free fees contact the admissions office/fees office of the College/University you wish to study in.

There is a 5 year break clause, which may deem you eligible for free fees, but there is no point in messing about and second guessing things. Contact the College/University and get a straight answer.
 
Thanks all i rang the college and was told i will only have to pay the €896 in september as neither course was finished and it wasn't a degree i did either time before that's the story for now anyhows...... fingers crossed it stays that way
 
Would I be correct i saying that that €896 is tax deductible, assuming the course qualifies.
 
The €896 is I assume the 3rd level registration charge, not course fees, so check if it is actually tax deductable.
 
Currently the Student Services Fee is not actually tax deductible I'm afraid, only Tuition Fees are.
 
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