Vol. 491 No. 3
497 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Education and Science the person who will be administering the proposed maintenance grants for post leaving certificate courses which are to come into effect for the academic year 1998-99; when information leaflets will be made available to students and parents who are making decisions; and the person to whom they should address their queries. [11969/98]
The programme for Government, An Action Programme for the Millennium, provides a commitment to the introduction of an equitable support of students attending PLC courses. I have already announced my intention to introduce grants, which will be at the same level as the third-level maintenance grants for students who are registered on PLC courses as of September 1998. Provision for the payment of the first instalment of these grants has been included in the 1998 Estimates.
The scheme will apply to all students registered with effect from the 1998-99 academic year, including year 2 and year 3 students, who satisfy the means test requirements. The same means test and income limits as apply on the third level support schemes would be applied under the PLC scheme.
Academic requirements for a grant will be satisfied by securing a place on a PLC course in the Republic of Ireland approved by the Department of Education and Science. The Department of Education and Science produces a list annually of approved post leaving certificate courses.
Other requirements are that the student's parents, or the student in the case of mature students, must be resident in the Republic of Ireland since 1 October 1997 and must be an EU national or have official refugee status or humanitarian leave to remain in the State.
The introduction of maintenance grants for students attending PLC courses involves the development of significant new administrative arrangements. I will announce further details on the administration of the scheme in the near future.
