Michael Creed
Question:330 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Education and Science the rationale behind the current income threshold limits for the third level Department of Education assistance-access fund. [10814/01]
Written Answers. - Student Assistance-Access Fund.
Apart from the maintenance grants schemes and the free fees initiative, under which my Department meets the cost of tuition fees for eligible undergraduate students in approved institutions, financial support is also available to students through the student assistance-access fund. The objectives of the fund, which is ESF aided, are to assist students, in a sensitive and compassionate manner, who might otherwise, due to their financial circumstances, be unable to continue their third level studies. Students must be attending an undergraduate course or a post-graduate course of not less than one year duration in order to be deemed eligible for assistance.
The fund is administered by the third level institutions and provides direct financial support to disadvantaged students to assist them to remain on in college. I significantly increased the provision for this fund from £1.296 million in 1999 to £1.964 million in 2000.
The fund is administered on a discretionary and confidential basis by each third level institution and my Department does not lay down income threshold limits in relation to those who may be considered eligible to benefit from the fund.