asked the Minister for Education the amount of interest payments which Galway County Council have had to make in the last financial year as a result of the delay in reimbursement of finance in connection with the payment of higher education grants from her Department; if she considers it reasonable that the local authority should have to bear this level of debt without any reimbursement from her Department; and if she will now make arrangements to ensure prompt payment of finance due to the local authority so as to alleviate this debt.
Written Answers. - Higher Education Grants.
111.
My Department are not aware whether interest charges were incurred by Galway County Council in the financial year 1984 in relation to their operation of the higher education grants scheme. Since the introduction of the scheme in 1968 recoupment in respect of the local authorities' expenditure in a particular financial year is paid by my Department in the following financial year. There was no undue delay in the payment this year of recoupment to Galway County Council in respect of its expenditure in 1984. In accordance with the provisions of the Local Authorities (Higher Education Grants) Act, 1968, recoupment is payable only in respect of the cost of the grants awarded and paid by an authority and, accordingly, an amount in respect of interest charges cannot be included in the recoupment.
112.
asked the Minister for Education the efforts she is making to ensure the prompt payment of higher education grants by local authorities throughout the country; if she is concerned at the hardship which the present delays in the payments of grants are causing to many people; if she will outline the system and the time-scale through which her Department makes finance available to local authorities; and if she will indicate her intention to improve this system so that local authorities receive finance from her Department much quicker than at present so as to ensure prompt payment of higher education grants to third-level students.
The specimen higher education grants scheme issued by my Department to the local authorities each year contains a provision as follows:
Every effort will be made by the... County Council/Corporation... to pay the maintenance element (if any) of a grant-holder's grant in three equal instalments, one as early as possible in each term, and the individual paying orders will be addressed to the grant-holders c/o the Bursar's office of the University or other educational institution concerned.
It is a matter for each local authority to apply that provision in its functional area and I would be concerned if there was any undue delay in the payment of grants to students. Since the introduction of the grants scheme in 1968 recoupment in respect of the local authorities' expenditure in a particular financial year is paid by my Department in the following financial year. There is no undue delay in my Department in paying recoupment to any particular authority after its application for recoupment is received.