The higher education grants scheme operates 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 has a secured place in an approved institution and has reached that age on the first 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. Under the terms of the higher education grants scheme, 2001, an independent mature candidate is defined as a candidate who was not ordinarily resident with his-her parents from 1 October 2000.
When assessing the means of students other than independent 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 an independent mature student.
As the student to whom the Deputy refers was not 23 on 1 January 2001, she cannot be assessed as an independent mature student. There are no plans at present to change the eligibility criteria in this regard but the issue is being kept under review.
