The Bank of Ireland has announced a £10 million millennium scholarship scheme to provide third-level funding for students who through disadvantage or disability, are prevented from reaching their full potential.
The Bank of Ireland Millennium Scholars' Trust, launched in Dublin yesterday, will run from 2000 to 2009, and 60 students will be funded every year with an average scholarship of £5,000. The maximum subvention for any single student will be £30,000 to cover a four-year study programme.
The trust will be overseen by a board of trustees, including trade unionist Ms Inez McCormack, Mr Paul Harran, Secretary-General of the Department of Enterprise and Employment, and Mr Noel Dorr, former Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs. It will be administered by a group to be set up under the auspices of the National College of Ireland.
Nominations for students to receive the new scholarships should be channelled through nominating bodies, which will include area-based partnerships and voluntary organisations.