Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 23 Mar 1999

Vol. 502 No. 3

Written Answers. - Higher Education Grants.

Emmet Stagg

Question:

63 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for Education and Science his views on whether it is unacceptable that students under the age of 23 on 1 January 1999 in their year of entry into college are assessed on their own plus their parents or guardians' income regardless of their circumstances; for example a student may be 22, married with a child and still assessed on the basis of his own plus his parents' or guardians' income; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7788/99]

Minister for Education and Science (Mr. Martin)

The higher education grant schemes operate under the Local Authorities (Higher Education Grants) Acts, 1968 to 1992. These Acts define a mature student to mean a person "of not less than 23 years of age, or such other age as may stand specified for the time being in regulations made by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance, who have secured places in approved institutions and have reached that age on the 1st day of January, or such other date as may be prescribed from time to time by the Minister with the consent of the Minister for Finance, in the year of entry to such institutions". The Acts further provide, inter alia, for the making of grants to mature students whose means and those of their parents, where the mature students are dependent on their parents, and the means of their spouses, if any, do not exceed prescribed limits.

Under the terms of the higher education grants schemes, mature students are categorised as either independent mature students or mature students dependent on parents. An independent mature student is defined to mean a mature student who was not ordinarily resident at home with his or her parents from the October preceding their entry to an approved course. Indepen dent mature students are deemed to be self-supporting and are assessed without reference to either their parents' income or address.

When assessing the means of students other than mature students, the Acts specify that the students' means and those of their parents or guardians must be below a prescribed limit.

This provision requires that parental income be taken into account irrespective of the individual circumstances in any case where the student is not a mature student.

The other student support schemes have similar provisions in relation to the means assessment of students.

I appreciate the difficulties that these provisions can give rise to in certain cases such as in the case of married students or lone parents and I have asked my Department to examine the issues concerned.