Education Bursary Terms and Conditions

1. Terms and Conditions  

The applicant shall be deemed to accept and to agree to abide by the following terms and conditions:  

1. Submission of an application to the Father Patsy Education Bursary constitutes acceptance of these Terms and Conditions, which shall include any instructions which may be separately or subsequently provided by Circle Voluntary Housing Association (VHA).  

2.  Application Assessment Criteria  

• The most up-to-date Confidential Income Statement (CIS) must be provided and assessed.  

• The rent account must be in advance or no more than 2 weeks in arrears. If the rent account is in arrears, tenants must be engaged in a repayment plan with their Income Management Officer    

• There should be no open or pending cases with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB), tenants must not be involved in any dispute process or tenancy violations.  

3. Eligibility and Application Limits 

• Each household may have up to two applicants per year, with only one application allowed per person.  

• Applicants must be tenants or authorised approved occupants of Circle VHA, including tenants living in ‘Cost Rental’ properties.  

• Applications for the Education Bursary are accepted during the designated application window only. 

• The awarding panel aims to make a decision within 10 working days after the application window closes, provided all necessary information has been submitted.  

4. Applicants must be 18 years old or over at the time of applying for the bursary.  

5. If English is not your first language or if you require additional support with the application process, please contact our office or speak to your Tenancy Services Officer (TSO).  

6. The application form for the bursary is available on the Circle website.
   Applicants may also request a paper copy by contacting TES@circlevha.ie or by
   calling our office 01 407 2110. Completed applications can be submitted by post to:
   Fr. Patsy Carolan Education Bursary, Circle VHA, 32-34 Castle Street, Dublin 2. D02 WR44 

7. Proof of making an entry does not constitute proof of receipt. No responsibility will be accepted for entries lost, damaged, or delayed.  

8. Applicants will be notified via email that their application has been received; therefore, a valid email address and phone number are to be included with your application. If you have submitted your application form by post, alternative arrangements will be made to notify you.  

9. Circle VHA expressly reserves the sole discretion and right to alter the eligibility criteria or other application rules, judging criteria/process and / or timelines in such manner as it sees fit at any time including, without limitation, to the right to extend the application.   

10. All decisions made by the awarding panel are final and based on established criteria. If you have any questions or need further clarification, please feel free to contact us.  

11. Any failure on the part of Circle VHA to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms and Conditions shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision and shall not be deemed to be a waiver of any other term or condition hereunder, or a subsequent breach of such term or conditions.  

12. Circle VHA, at its absolute and sole discretion, may decide not to make an award.  

13. The Education Bursary and the Terms and Conditions will be governed by Irish law and any dispute will be determined by the exclusive jurisdiction of the Irish courts.  
    

1. Continuing Support

• Reapplications are assessed alongside new applicants and are subject to budget availability. 

2. Payment of Bursary  

1. Each application will be assessed by the awarding panel using a predefined set of criteria. While funding is limited, we strive to assist as many applicants as possible within the available budget. The approved amount may be lower than the requested amount. Successful applicants may receive up to €500. 

2. Evidence of acceptance on the chosen course, as identified in the proposal of the successful applicant, must be provided to Circle VHA upon application. 

3. Applicant Responsibilities  

1. The applicant expressly acknowledges and agrees as a condition of entry, that Circle VHA may use their name and course information for marketing, reporting or other advertisement purposes. 

2. Successful applicants’ name and course information will be used by Circle VHA for the purposes of publicity and marketing.  

3. Successful applicants are invited to be involved in publicity relating to the award, run by Circle VHA and/or media partners.  

4. Should you feel comfortable and willing, you may be invited to prepare an article for a general audience. This article may be published on the Circle VHA website, in the quarterly Tenant Engagement Newsletter and other publications. 

4. Other responsibilities 

1. The applicant must make themselves available to respond to the Awarding Panels’ queries at the relevant stages of this application process.  

2. All expenses of application to and participation in the Education Bursary are the sole responsibility of the applicant.  

3. The applicant expressly acknowledges and agrees as a condition of entry, that recipients of the Circle VHA Education Bursary shall; 

• Agree to repay any funds received if any information is falsified during or after the application process  

• When submitting an application, applicants are required to confirm that they have read and understood Section 5 Data Protection.  

4. By submitting this application form, you acknowledge and consent to Circle VHA using the provided information solely for processing your application for the Education Bursary.  

5. Successful applicants are required to, at the agreed time complete an evaluation report to assess the impact of the education bursary and ensure compliance with its objectives. 

5. Data Protection 

1. Circle VHA processes personal data securely in accordance with data protection legislation.  

2. When submitting an application, applicants are required to confirm that they have read and understood this privacy statement.  

3. For the purposes of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (EU Regulation 2016/679) (GDPR), Circle VHA is a data controller for the Educational Bursary.  

4. Circle VHA processes all personal data in accordance with the governing legislation (The Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR).  

5. Circle VHA adhere to the following principles when processing data: lawfulness, fairness and transparency, purpose limitation, data minimisation, accuracy, storage limitations, integrity and confidentiality and accountability.  

6. Circle VHA may share personal data provided in your application with the Education Bursary awarding panel.  

7. Circle VHA will not retain data for any longer than is necessary. If your application is successful, Circle VHA will retain your information as follows: 

• Application Form – One year following the conclusion of the course.  

• Bursary Awards – 7 years, as required under financial regulations  

• Publicity information including a summary of your project – indefinitely, for archiving purposes  

8. If your application is unsuccessful, Circle VHA will delete it within six months of the completion of the application process. 

9. Circle VHA take appropriate measures against unauthorised access to, or alterations, disclosure or destruction of the data and against accidental loss or destruction.  

10. Personal data will not be shared with other persons without your specific consent or if necessary to meet our legal obligations.  

11. A consent section is included on the application form to seek your permission to use your personal data for publicity purposes. Please ensure you complete this when returning your application form. 

12. Individuals have a number of rights under Data Protection Legislation. This includes access to your personal data. A full list of your rights is available in Circle VHA’s Data Protection Policy. Circle VHA’s privacy policy may be viewed at https://circlevha.ie/privacy-policy/ 

13. If you have any questions about Circle Voluntary Housing Association privacy statement or the data we hold on you, or you would like to exercise your data protection rights, please do not hesitate to contact us. You may contact our Data Protection Officer at  dp@circlevha.ie  or in writing to Data Protection Officer, Circle Voluntary Housing Association, Phoenix House, 32-34 Castle Street, Dublin 2, D02 WR44.