Vol. 523 No. 1
1126 Mr. Perry asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will intervene on behalf of a person (details supplied) in County Leitrim and have a grant approved in view of the details supplied; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that this person will have no option but to drop out of college if financial assistance is not provided; if he will make a favourable decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20658/00]
Under the terms of the third level student support schemes, the candidate's reckonable income for the purposes of the means test is his/her gross income from all sources and the gross income of his/her parents or guardians where applicable, with certain specified social welfare and health board payments being exempt.
My Department has been in touch with Leitrim Vocational Education Committee, the body responsible for assessing means in this case, and it is understood that the reckonable income exceeds the current income limits for the award of a grant in respect of the 2000-2001 academic year. Accordingly, the candidate to whom the Deputy refers is ineligible for grant assistance in respect of the current academic year.
The terms and conditions of the student support schemes are of general application and, accordingly, it is not possible to make exceptions in individual cases such as this.
