Vol. 491 No. 6
318 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Education and Science the process, if any, whereby his Department can grant third level maintenance grants to persons (details supplied) in County Cork; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13048/98]
319 Mr. O'Shea asked the Minister for Education and Science his views in relation to the processing of third level maintenance grants (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13049/98]
I propose to answer Questions Nos. 318 and 319 together.
Under the terms of the third level student support schemes, the candidates' reckonable income for the purpose of the means test is their gross income from all sources and the gross income of their parents or guardians where applicable. Where a candidate's parents are separated, only the income of the parent with whom the candidate resides is assessed. The terms of the third level student support schemes, which are uniformly applied, do not allow for personal expenses such as mortgage or loan repayments to be taken into account when assessing income.
In the particular instance referred to by the Deputy the gross income exceeded the limits to qualify for a maintenance grant set down in the 1997 higher education grants scheme. However both students qualify to have their student services charge paid and they are also entitled to have their fees paid under the free fees initiative.
