O’ Dowd welcomes funding for students experiencing COVID-19 hardship

A £1.4m hardship fund to support students during the COVID-19 crisis has been welcomed by Sinn Féin.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

A £1.4m hardship fund to support students during the COVID-19 crisis has been welcomed by Sinn Féin.

MLA John O’Dowd said: “Many students experiencing considerable hardship because of the current COVID-19 pandemic lobbied me and other MLAs for help.

Students in private tenanted accommodation are still having to pay rent despite not being at university and many who have full or part-time jobs are not currently working as a result of the pandemic, particularly those who work in the hospitality sector.

John O'Dowd, Sinn Fein MLA for Upper Bann.John O'Dowd, Sinn Fein MLA for Upper Bann.
John O'Dowd, Sinn Fein MLA for Upper Bann.

“Several weeks ago I called on the Economy Minister Diane Dodds to bring in such funding a call I repeated in the Assembly Chamber and Economy committee.

“This announcement of £1.4m by my party colleague, Finance Minister Conor Murphy, together with similar funding from the Department of Education, will help students experiencing hardship at this difficult time.

“I would now call on Economy Minister Diane Dodds to match this funding to support students.

Sinn Fein will continue to stand with students in further and higher education.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

In order for us to continue to provide high quality and trusted local news on this free-to-read site, I am asking you to also please purchase a copy of our newspaper whenever you are able to do so.

Our journalists are highly trained and our content is independently regulated by IPSO to some of the most rigorous standards in the world. But being your eyes and ears comes at a price. So we need your support more than ever to buy our newspapers during this crisis.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our local valued advertisers - and consequently the advertising that we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you helping us to provide you with news and information by buying a copy of our newspaper when you can safely.

You can also enjoy unlimited access to the best news from across Northern Ireland and the UK by subscribing to newsletter.co.uk

With a digital subscription, you can read more than five articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Thank you