Vol. 516 No. 2
74 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will correct the anomaly whereby mature dependent students for third level grant purposes are assessed under their parents income due to the fact they previously lived at home and were employed by their parents and cannot avail of the grant regardless of age due to the fact they are deemed to have been dependent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7245/00]
In general, students are eligible for grant assistance towards maintenance and fees (up to the maximum fee limit) where they satisfy the relevant conditions as to age, residence, means, and nationality.
The higher education grant schemes operate under the Local Authorities (Higher Education Grants) Acts, 1968 to 1992. Under these Acts a mature student is defined as a person of not less than 23 years of age on 1 January in the year of entry to an approved third level institution.
Under the terms of the higher education grants scheme, mature students are categorised as either mature students dependent on parents or independent mature students. A mature student dependent on parents is defined to mean a mature candidate who was ordinarily resident with her or his parents from the October preceding their entry to an approved course. Maintenance grants may be paid 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.
An independent mature student is defined to mean a mature candidate who was not ordinarily resident with his or her parents from the October preceding their entry to an approved course. Independent mature students are deemed to be self-supporting and are assessed without reference to either their parents' income or address.
Any revision in the terms of the scheme, as outlined, would have to be considered in the light of available financial resources and other competing demands in the education sector.
