Written Answers. - Higher Education Grants.
Michael D. Higgins
Question:
732
Mr. M. Higgins
asked the
Minister for Education and Science
the reason a person (details supplied) in County Galway was refused a higher education grant in view of documentation (details supplied) which supports this person's application; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[8622/02]
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 have secured places in approved institutions and have reached that age on 1 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".
An independent mature student is defined to mean a mature student who was not ordinarily resident at home with his-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.
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. My Department understands that the student referred to by the Deputy does not meet the age requirement to be assessed as a mature student under the terms of the scheme.
In light of the difficulties being encountered in the assessment of means of students under 23 years of age who, for various reasons, are not in a position to produce evidence of parental income as required under the scheme, my Department sought, and received, legal advice with regard to the assessment of such cases. Subsequently, a letter issued from my Department to the awarding bodies, local authorities and vocational education committees, to the effect that, in cases where estrangement from parents-guardians is claimed, independent verification or official supporting documentation relevant to the particular circumstances, is required.
My Department understands that in the case of the person referred to by the Deputy, the documentation provided to date does not provide the necessary evidence indicating estrangement from parents. In this regard, confirmation that a candidate is living separately from his-her parents or guardians does not constitute sufficient evidence.
As the person in question does not meet the age requirement to be assessed as a mature student, and in the absence of compelling evidence of estrangement from his parents, his eligibility for a higher education grant must be based on parental income. It is not open to me, or my Department, to depart from the terms of the student support schemes in individual cases.
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, in approved third level institutions, 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.
The fund is administered on a discretionary and confidential basis by each third level institution and provides direct financial support to disadvantaged students to assist them to remain on in college. I increased significantly the provision for this fund from €2.49 million, £1.964 million, in respect of the 2000-01 academic year to €7.49 million, £5.9 million, in respect of the 2001/02 academic year.
