Beverley Flynn
Question:433 Ms Cooper-Flynn asked the Minister for Education and Science the reason a person (details supplied) in County Mayo in receipt of a higher education authority grant does not have his full tuition fees covered. [27600/98]
Written Answers. - Third Level Fees.
Under the free fees initiative, the State meets the tuition fees of eligible students who are attending full-time undergraduate courses, which must generally be of at least two years duration, at approved colleges. The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) is not an approved college for the purpose of this initiative.
However, the RCSI is an approved college for the purpose of the higher education grants scheme. Under the terms of the scheme, the State meets the cost of tuition fees for eligible students up to maximum fee limit, which for the 1998-9 academic year has been set at £2,702. The student to whom the Deputy refers is already in receipt of grant assistance up to the maximum fee limit. It is not possible, in individual cases, to provide any further assistance towards the cost of the tuition fees over and above the maximum fee limit.