Minister for Education Ruairí Quinn is set to press ahead with a new capital asset test for student grants, which could be make it more difficult for children of farmers and the self-employed to gain funding.
Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association president John Comer has promised a “tooth and nail” campaign of resistance against the changes to means testing arrangements.
Reform of the student grant scheme has been on the education agenda for more than two decades but successive ministers have been reluctant to overhaul it.
Last December Mr Quinn announced that the grant scheme would be amended to take account of the value of certain capital assets as well as income for the 2013/2014 academic year. A capital asset test implementation group has since been established.
The Department said yesterday it was not possible to say at this time what assets may be included.