State pays €20m to fund 12 US students

Ken Foxe

THE government has volunteered to put €20m into a fund to bring 12 US students to Ireland on scholarship each year.

The investment will be placed in an endowment fund to support the George Mitchell Scholarship Fund, which was established in 1999.

The €20m figure was agreed in 2007 when the country's finances were in far better health but the Department of Education has said the commitment will go ahead regardless, despite massive cutbacks to school and teaching budgets. The department confirmed that in the past 10 years of the Scholarship Fund, only 105 students had come to Ireland as part of the programme.

The new €20m investment will support the annual attendance of 12 students, by offering them a living allowance, airline tickets, tuition and accommodation.

The cost per student each year is estimated at a maximum of €27,000, meaning the actual cost of the scholarships each year should be no more than €324,000.

Instead, the government has committed €20m of taxpayers' money – with a maximum of €4m per year – to an endowment fund, which will then be invested. Based on a maximum investment, the cost over the course of five years will have worked out at the equivalent of €330,000 per student.

A statement from the Department of Education said an original investment of around €2.5m when the programme was instituted was now proving insufficient to support the programme.

A spokesman said: "Mitchell scholars are likely to occupy positions of influence in the US in the future. We expect that their period of study here will create an enduring legacy of goodwill towards Ireland."

Critics of the scheme said dozens of American students were already coming to Ireland with other US universities without a massive charge to the exchequer.

One source said: "A hundred students from Notre Dame go to Ireland every year, similar numbers from Boston College – the Irish taxpayer does not pay a penny."

March 21, 2010

Comments

#1 Sarah C commented, on March 21, 2010 at 6:53 p.m.:

The IRCHSS scholarship, an Irish government scholarship for postgraduate students, gives €16,000 plus fees (€5,000) per year to successful students. It certainly does not equate 20million euro or anything near it. The George Mitchell scholarship should certainly not be offering more than that, should it offer anything at all.

Not only that, but how much money has the government cut from the education budget in the last two years? Are we really saying US students deserve the money more than special needs or disadvantaged schools? It appears to be the epitome of elitism. And all based on presumptions and a lot of 'ifs'. €20million is a lot of money for an 'if'

#2 Josh Kearny commented, on March 21, 2010 at 7:18 p.m.:

Well done to The Sunday Tribune for highlighting this massive issue, which has gone under the radar.

The US-Ireland Alliance is also very significantly funded by many other donors including the US government and in the past by Irish property developers, among others. How much will this €20m pledged by the Irish government along with all the other donations come to?

How much does the US-Ireland Alliance's 'pre-Oscar night' which takes place in LA cost? Is the Irish taxpayer paying?

Why are out politicians so willing to contribute €20m when our country is broke and laying off special needs assistants, for instance? How is the US-Ireland Alliance convincing our politicians to support the shameful George Mitchell Scholarship Bill?

Are our politicians afraid to speak up seeing that the name of George Mitchell, so attached to the Northern Ireland peace process, is attached to the Bill?

Is the US-Ireland Alliance convincing our politicians that US-Ireland relations are dying? This is plainly not true. One needs only look at the 500 Irish American democrats and supporters who turned up to the St.Patrick's day event in Washington DC hosted by President Obama and Vice-President Biden.

Can the Irish government name one Mitchell Scholar to date who has put anything back into Ireland or accomplished anything for Ireland?

One of the current Mitchell scholars is from the US Naval Academy. Can the US Navy not afford to send a student to Ireland? Why does the Irish taxpayer have to foot the Bill?

The newly tendered Labour Market Activation Fund aims to retrain more than 3,500 unemployed Irish people - at a cost of €20m. Is this not a better way to spend €20m?

This payment of €20m, first pledged in good times in 2007, is obscene in the extreme.

#3 Hassan commented, on March 22, 2010 at 12:39 a.m.:

Why should Irish government continue to award scholarship when they say the country's finances are in 'trouble'.Yet it is possible to hand out scholarships to affluent classes of Americans to study here and a considerable number of residents here cannot be guaranteed University education.Shame on Irish state for not giving chances to our working classes a privilege they deserve and also a human right indeed.

#4 Josh Kearny commented, on March 22, 2010 at 8:31 a.m.:

One of the current Mitchell Scholars is from the US Naval Academy. Can the US Navy not afford to send a student to Ireland and why does the Irish taxpayer have to foot the bill?

Can the Irish government name one Mitchell scholar that has achieved anything for Ireland?

This a pure waste of E20m given that the Labour Market Activation Fund aims to help 3,500 unemployed for the same cost.

#5 Kevin B commented, on March 22, 2010 at 8:42 a.m.:

'The actual cost of scholarships each year should be no more that E324,000' - where's the rest of the money going? Who runs this scholarship programme in the US? I imagine they are taking a nice fat pay cheque at the Irish taxpayers' expense. And I'd not be surprised if they are using the money to wine and dine our fair TDs and Senators when they're in the US...citing the money spent as 'administrative costs'. This reeks of the old days when we had easy money sloshing around between politicians and their croonies.
And Sarah C makes a good point, how much has been cut from special needs education?! Are the children of elite Americans more important than our own?

#6 Anne Cavanaugh commented, on March 22, 2010 at 10:04 p.m.:

Are they out of thier minds!?!I spent my year abroad at UCG and like almost all American students paid for it myself ( or rather my parents did). There is something very fishy going on here.Way too much Irish money spent on way too few American students.And we thought there was a recession on.Glad to see the Irish economy is doing so well. Keep sending us your taxes to pay for our kids education.

#7 fi commented, on March 24, 2010 at 2:05 p.m.:

I work in the education sector, I love all things academic and education related but they should be investing that money in things like better facilities, and more college programs; not for 12 students living allowances and accomodation! I'm sorry I don't care how wonderful they are. I agree with the concept of scholarships- international and national, but that is far too much to allocate for such a cause, given the state of this country, and the current state of the education industry. Stupid decisions like this make a mockery of the department of education.

#8 Robert S commented, on March 25, 2010 at 3:20 p.m.:

I don't think anybody has a problem with the actual purpose of the scheme or would doubt the potential benefits with regards future US goodwill but how on earth does this add up financially?

Are they being given obscene smounts of spending money? Being put up in luxurious hotels?

Honestly, even taking away the inevitable administration costs, 300k per student per year seems to be an absolute farce.

#9 jim commented, on March 28, 2010 at 5:55 a.m.:

Are you people nuts? this money is going into an endowment fund. This is a one off investment which will fund these students over many years. this will ensure that some of the brightest and the best in the US understand and appreciate Ireland long after the bord failte ads are forgotten. if only one of them persuades a company to invest in ireland, it will be worth. these kids are going places and we will always need friends. stop being so short-sighted and reactionary.

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