Grants for parents of children who are studying were introduced, and additional grants were added.
Manifesto items 259-261 cover student-and-family support, and Budget 2026 added new study/family grants on top. The 'and added more' line lands, but the precise like-for-like comparison is harder to make than for Claims 11 or 12.
Manifesto items 259-261 cover student-and-family support, and Budget 2026 added new study/family grants on top. The 'and added more' line lands, but the precise like-for-like comparison is harder to make than for Claims 11 or 12.
The 2022 manifesto's student-and-family support section (items 259-261) included direct grants for students living independently (€500/year for three years, totalling €1,500), pro-rata COLA on stipends, and a new mechanism independent of COLA. Budget 2026 added measures including the increased birth bonus (€1,000 first child, €1,500 second, €2,000 third) and broader family-investment lines totalling €120M in social support. The 'grants given and added' framing is supported in shape, but the parent-of-student grant specifically is harder to pin down to a clean delivered-vs-promised line. Mostly True pending a tighter comparison; we would soften the verdict to True if a specific named scheme is identified.
Did Labour really deliver — and add to — grants for parents of children studying
Of the manifesto-delivery sub-claims in Abela's speech, this one is the most slippery — not because the policy doesn't exist, but because 'grants for parents of children studying' is a description that maps onto several distinct schemes.
The 2022 promise
The 2022 manifesto's student-and-family support sections (items 259-261, plus the broader item 121 on children's allowance) committed to:
- €500/year for three years (totalling €1,500) for students living independently
- Pro-rata COLA on stipends and a new mechanism independent of COLA
- Higher in-work benefit (+€50/year per child, four years running)
- Broader family-investment commitments throughout chapter 02
What Budget 2026 added
Budget 2026 introduced or expanded several family-and-education lines:
- Birth bonus increased by €500 — €1,000 first child, €1,500 second, €2,000 third
- Higher grant for Gozitan students studying in Malta
- €120 million in social support across the family and child-support envelope
- €160 million in tax cuts targeting parents specifically
Where the verdict gets cautious
Some of the Budget 2026 measures (the birth bonus, the parental tax cuts) are not strictly 'grants for parents of children studying' — they overlap with that category but extend beyond it. A clean like-for-like comparison would need a named, specific 'parent-of-student grant' line. Without that, the broader claim is supported in shape but not pinpoint.
So is the claim accurate?
Directionally yes — both promised and delivered grants exist, and the Budget added more. But the specific 'parent-of-student grant' line is fuzzier than the children's-allowance and stipend claims that bracket it.
Verdict: Mostly True — with room to firm up to True if a specific scheme is named.