With regard to the water conservation grant, there have been 70,000 offers sent out this week for third level places and the situation that these students and their parents face with regard to water charges is totally unfair. Landlords are charging individual students up to 200 Euro deposit for water charges, and that’s on top of spiralling rent costs, yet these students are not entitled to claim the water conservation grant.
Enda Kenny has often said that we have to cherish all our children equally but that’s certainly not the case here. Even if the students could register there is no way that it can be paid out as they will most likely be in a different property altogether next year and the following year and so on. As usual there is no joined up thinking here at all. There should be co-operation between the CAO, the Department of Social Protection and Irish Water on this issue to allow students to claim this grant in September or October. After all the landlords are charging them for it so they are surely entitled to what everyone else are getting. This is another worry and another bill for hard pressed parents who are going to have this additional expense for water along with the other massive costs associated with sending their children to third level education.