Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 November 2004
183 Mr. O’Shea asked the Minister for Education and Science if the third level grant application from a person (details supplied) in County Waterford will be reviewed with a view to introducing appropriate amending legislation in order that such candidates can qualify; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29639/04]
View answerThe decision on eligibility for maintenance grants is a matter for the relevant local authority or VEC. These bodies do not refer individual applications to my Department except, in exceptional cases, where, for example, advice or instruction regarding a particular clause in the relevant scheme is desired. The higher education grants scheme operates under the Local Authorities (Higher Education Grants) Acts 1968 to 1992. These Acts define mature students to mean persons "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 the 1st 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".
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-her parents from the October preceding their entry to an approved course. Independent mature students are assessed without reference to either their parents' income or address.
When assessing the means of students other than independent mature students, the means test provision of the scheme specifies 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.
I understand that the student in question was out of the country travelling from September 2003 to July 2004 and that on her return she took up residence at her parents' address. She was accordingly assessed with reference to her parents' address and income details. The Deputy will appreciate that the terms of the schemes are of general application and it is not open to me to make exceptions in individual cases. It is not proposed, in the foreseeable future, to change the current position in relation to the assessment of mature students.
