Vol. 494 No. 3
264 Mr. Bradford asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will make efforts to provide payment of the post leaving certificate course maintenance grants before the end of 1998 in view of the fact that the majority of post leaving certificate course students have no source of income. [18219/98]
The programme for Government, An Action Programme for the Millennium provides a commitment to the introduction of equitable support for students attending post-leaving certificate courses. I have honoured this commitment with the introduction of a maintenance grants scheme for students attending PLC courses in the current academic year. The grants will be means tested and the rates of grant, income limits, and other criteria for eligibility will be similar to those, which apply to the third level student support schemes.
The introduction of these maintenance grants involves an expansion of existing administrative arrangements for the third level student support schemes. Following discussions with the Irish Vocational Education Association (IVEA), it was agreed that the vocational education committees (VECs) would have responsibility for the administration of the new PLC grants scheme. As the Deputy will be aware, the vast majority of PLC courses are provided in the VEC sector and the vocational education committees already have considerable expertise in the administration of some of the existing student support schemes.
The procedure for assessment of and payment to students by the VEC will involve the processing of applications from all applicants in each VEC's own administrative area. Each VEC will then be required to make payments to eligible students attending PLC courses in its own administrative area. The maintenance grants scheme for students attending PLC courses was issued to the vocational education committees on 28 August 1998. The closing date for receipt of applications is Friday, 16 October. It is anticipated that vocational education committees will make the first payments to students, which will be retrospective to September 1998, in January 1999.
