The higher education grant scheme operates under the Local Authorities (Higher Education Grants) Acts 1968 to 1992. Under these Acts a mature student is defined as a person of not less than 23 years of age on 1 January in the year of entry to an approved third level institution. The Acts further provide, inter alia, for the making of grants to mature students whose means and those of their parents, where the mature students are dependent on their parents, do not exceed prescribed limits.
Mature students are categorised as either independent mature students or mature students dependent on parents. An independent mature student is defined to mean a mature student who was not ordinarily resident at home with his or her parents-guardians from 1 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-guardians income or address.
Under the means test provisions of the schemes the reckonable income of a candidate, other than an independent mature candidate, 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. At present there are no plans to change the eligibility criteria in this regard.
My Department accepts that, in relation to a small number of applications, a student under 23 years of age may not be in a position to produce evidence of parental income. My Department has advised the local authorities and vocational education committees, which administer the grants schemes, that in such exceptional cases where compelling, independent evidence of estrangement from parents-guardians is provided, candidates who are under 23 years may be assessed without reference to their parents-guardians income or address.
An example of the type of independent verification-evidence required would be a letter from a social worker or health board employee explaining the circumstances under which the candidate is estranged from his-her parents-guardians.
It must be stressed that confirmation that a candidate is living separately from parents-guardians, or that the parents-guardians are refusing to provide financial support, is not sufficient in this regard.
