Dáil Éireann debate -
Tuesday, 30 Jan 2001

Vol. 529 No. 1

Written Answers. - Higher Education Grants.

John McGuinness

Question:

1135 Mr. McGuinness asked the Minister for Education and Science the reason for the delay in extending a higher education authority grant to a person (details supplied) in County Carlow; and if he will expedite consideration of the application. [30526/00]

Minister for Education and Science (Dr. Woods)

The student, to whom the Deputy refers, pursued first year of a degree level course in International Business Studies and Languages at Dublin City University in the 1999-2000 academic year. My Department understands that she did not apply for grant assistance in respect of that year. In 2000-01 the student in question progressed to the second year of this course and she submitted an application for grant assistance to Laois County Council, under the higher education grants scheme. Under the terms of the grants scheme candidates must satisfy the relevant conditions as to age, residence, means, and nationality.

The condition relating to residency states that the candidate's parents or guardians, or, in the case of an independent mature candidate, the candidate herself, shall have been ordinarily resident in the administrative area of the local auth ority from 1 October prior to entering an approved course. The local authority has discretion to waive this requirement in exceptional circumstances. As the candidate to whom the Deputy refers is not an independent mature candidate, the candidate's parent(s) are required to have been resident in the administrative area of Laois County Council from 1 October 1998 – the candidate entered her approved course in 1999. As the candidate's parent(s) do not fulfil the residency requirement the candidate was deemed ineligible to be assessed for grant assistance. The terms and conditions of the student support schemes are of general application and, accordingly, it is not open to me to make exceptions in individual cases.