I can't see any economic justification for charging someone living in Northern Ireland nearly twice the fee payable by someone living maybe only a few yards away in the Republic. Although the theory may be sound (if not examined too closely), the practice appears to be seriously discriminatory. A system of bursaries, although harder to administer, would be rather more fair; particularly as incomes are lower in the UK than in most other European countries, not to mention the USA and Canada. Was this system wished upon you by a grant-awarding authority?