Louth students to benefit from 'significant' improvements to Grant Scheme

Students in Louth are set to benefit from significant improvements to the 2026 Student Grant Scheme, Louth Fine Gael TD, Deputy Paula Butterly, has said.

Deputy Butterly was commenting in relation to revisions to the 2026 Student Grant Scheme and the associated benefits these changes will make to students in the 2026/27 academic year.

“College is expensive and families are feeling it", Deputy Butterly. "Fine Gael gets that, and we’re doing something about it. We’ve cut fees, raised the grant thresholds, and put more money into the pockets of students who are living away from home. These are real changes that will make a real difference for students and families right across Louth.”

The key changes to the 2026 Student Grant Scheme include:

• An increase in the €500 student contribution grant threshold from €115,000 to €120,000. Combined with the permanent fee reduction, this means eligible undergraduate students whose household earnings are under €120,000 will pay no more than €2,000 towards the student contribution charge in the 2026/27 academic year.
• The special rate threshold has increased to €28,600 in 2026 from €27,400 in 2025.
• The permanent decrease in the Student Contribution charge by €500 from €3,000 to €2,500 will be reflected in the 2026 Scheme, benefitting approximately 108,000 undergraduate students.
• A permanent increase in the Post Graduate Fee Contribution Grant by €500 from €4,000 to €4,500, benefitting approximately 3,000 postgraduate students.
• An increase to all non-adjacent maintenance grant rates for students whose normal residence is 30km or more from their institution.
• The amount a student may earn outside of term time without it being counted as reckonable income will increase from €8,424 to €8,830, reflecting the rise in the national minimum wage.
• Ensuring certain payments, including delayed ACRES payments relating to 2023 and 2024, are excluded when assessing reckonable income.

Read also: Minister of State says all clubs should not be punished for Drogheda fans' vandalism of Oriel Park

Approximately 30,000 students this academic year have already seen a pro-rata increase of between €111 and €239, and according to Deputy Butterly, from September 2026, students will see the full benefit of non-adjacent maintenance grant rate increases, with the Non-Adjacent Special Rate increasing by €350, the Band 1 Non-Adjacent Rate increasing by €430, and Bands 2–4 Non-Adjacent Rates increasing by €200.

In addition, certain awards funded from public sources have been added to the list of eligibility exclusions, including the Tusla Masters of Social Work (MSW) Student Social Work Sponsorship Programme, enabling recipients of these awards to apply for SUSI support.

Deputy Butterly added, “Fine Gael is on the side of students and young people. We promised to make college more affordable and that’s exactly what we’re delivering. Fees are down, grants are up, and more families than ever will qualify for support. If you’re heading to college or already there, make sure you apply through SUSI – you could be entitled to more support than you think."