Further Education - Fees and Funding

Costs

There are no tuition fees for EU Nationals enrolling in PLC/further education programmes. Non-EU Nationals who do not meet the exemption requirements are liable for the full tuition fee of €3,653.

There will be a small cost to all students for examination fees, books, class materials, field trips and class outings.

Funding

Maintenance grants are the main source of Irish state financial assistance available to students in full time further education.

These payments are available to EU/EEA nationals who are enrolling in a full time PLC programme. Apart from nationality, applicants need to meet several conditions such as previous studies - applicants should not have completed a course of a higher academic level; and residency - applicants (or their guardians if under 23) need to have lived in the local administrative area of the grant provider since the October 1st preceding your application.

Students should also be aware that only students of approved colleges can apply for a maintenance grant. Contact the local VEC in question (see Your Local VEC on this site) for details of approved colleges in each administrative area - which typically represent the cities and counties of Ireland.

Applying

Applications should be made as soon as possible and long before the usual deadline of August 31st. Applications for the PLC maintenance grant are always made to the local VEC - see link above.

NB – The free fees and maintenance grant schemes only apply to approved and publically funded institutions and not to private colleges.

Useful link:
www.studentfinance.ie