Ministers to discuss concerns over medical students’ loans

Concern about the high cost of loan repayments for graduate- entry medical students will be discussed by ministers in advance of the budget.

Minister for Education Jan O’Sullivan said she would raise the issue amid lobbying from affected students for a loan relief scheme that would allow them to get tax relief on repayments for the cost of their education.

The issue was raised by Senator Marie Louise O’Donnell at an Oireachtas committee last week, at which she accused the banks of “immoral” and “disgraceful” behaviour by hiking up interest rates on loans after medical students graduate.

The practice was forcing young medics to emigrate as “some are paying back double what they borrowed”, with loans typically exceeding €100,000 with interest. She said graduates were “financially completely choked by the banks” and the Government should exert more pressure on institutions it had bailed out.

Brian Doyle, a final year graduate entry medical (Gem) student at UCC, who is part of a new campaign group on the issue, said the absence of affordable finance for education was hindering access for students from lower socio-economic means.

“This is not about more money for doctors,” Mr Doyle said. “It’s about making it possible for people to repay loans which they need to take out to fund their education.”

A recent survey showed that more than 60 per cent of Gem students take out loans of €60,000 to €100,000. The interest rate switches from a lower fixed rate to a higher variable rate on graduation, making it more difficult to clear the debt.

In the case of some existing loans, the increase is from about 4 per cent to as much as 9 per cent.