Sir, - I wish to draw your readers' attention to an anomaly within the third-level grants system. At the moment the Irish School of Ecumenics in Milltown is not eligible for grants aid, which means that Irish students who wish to go there are obliged to pay full fees and those students who are also normally entitled to a maintenance grant will not receive it. The reason for this is that the ISE is categorised as a private college. In truth it is not. Its degrees are taught and given in association with Trinity College and if it had even an administration office on the Trinity campus this probably would not be an issue.
Its current ineligibility is unjust and has no reasonable basis. This can only be dealt with satisfactorily by the Minister for Education, Micheal Martin. This question has been raised before in the Dail by the late Pat Upton, among others, but as yet nothing has been done. The ISE continues to lose Irish students who cannot afford to pay fees and this is a double iniquity because the school is dedicated to the area of peace studies and reconciliation, something which this Government should be earnestly promoting.-Yours, etc., C. Dowling,
Tonlegee Road, Raheny, Dublin 5.