Austin Deasy
Question:80 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for Education if she will give details of the qualifications required to qualify for a mature student grant.
Written Answers. - Mature Student Grant.
There is no specific provision in the higher education grants scheme relating to mature students. As there is no upper age limit in the scheme it is open to a mature student to sit the leaving certificate examination in the normal way for the purposes of qualifying for a grant on grounds of academic attainments and means.
Under a special scheme of grants for mature women students 15 grants of £1,000 tenable for one year only are made available each year. The following conditions apply to the scheme:—
—Each applicant must be female and age 25 years of age or over on or before the closing date for receipt of applications;
—be unwaged or on a low income;
—be participating in an approved undergraduate degree diploma or certificate course to the extent that she has completed at least one year of the course;
—not be in receipt of a grant; scholarship or funding from any other source;
—furnish a letter from the relevant college authorities confirming (a) her success in the previous academic year examinations, (b) that she has re-enrolled for the current academic year and (c) that she is not, to their knowledge, in receipt of a grant, scholarship or funding from any other source;
—provide information on the financial circumstances of the household/ individual;
—furnish details on educational qualifications.