Higher Education Grants

Tuesday, 11 May 2010

Questions (346)

Brian Hayes

Question:

385 Deputy Brian Hayes asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills if various Vocational Education Committees and Local Authorities here which administer higher education student grants report to her on a weekly basis in the number of grants they have awarded; the number awarded in respect of each of the awarding authorities; the number of grants awarded to date in 2010; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18864/10]

View answer

Written answers

Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Mary Coughlan)

Normal reporting arrangements between the grant awarding authorities and my Department are on the basis of three financial reconciliations per year, a survey in January each year on progress in processing grant applications and an annual statistical return at the end of each academic year. This academic year, given the numbers of grant applications and the capacity of awarding authorities to process these, my Department had requested a weekly update from the awarding authorities to enable monitoring of the administration of student grants. This was an interim measure which was in place until the end of December 2009.

The following table details the number of new applications awarded a grant together with the number of renewal processed retuned in the January Survey. The information has been supplied to my Department by the local authorities and the Vocational Education Committees.

Both VECs and local authorities are experiencing pressures due to the increased workload associated with the increased demand for student grants, particularly in the context of the recruitment moratorium in the public sector which, in some instances, will have impacted on the processing of grants. However, every effort is being made by these bodies to ensure that students get decisions on their grant applications and are paid as soon as possible.

Given the likelihood of further increases in the numbers of grant applications, my Department is working closely with local authorities, VECs and other relevant stakeholders to continue development of a number of initiatives to support more effective delivery of student grants, including service improvements in application, assessment and payments arrangements.

The Maintenance Grants Schemes 2009/10

Statistics on new applicants for a grant under the 2009 Scheme
	Statistics as at 22nd January 2010
County Councils	Awarded a Grant	Renewals processed
Carlow Co Co	155	222
Cavan Co Co	169	292
Clare Co Co	388	673
Cork City Co	367	687
Cork Co Co	395	1,795
Donegal Co Co	417	817
Dublin City Co	1,111	1,963
Dún Laoghaire Co Co	260	640
South Dublin Co Co	430	870
Fingal Co Co	217	770
Galway Co Co	829	2427
Kerry Co Co	344	900
Kildare Co Co	373	664
Kilkenny Co Co	306	529
Laois Co Co	259	337
Leitrim Co Co	147	219
Limerick Co Co	318	890
Limerick City Co	186	362
Longford Co Co	131	172
Louth Co Co	156	412
Mayo Co Co	360	887
Meath Co. Co.	303	486
Monaghan Co Co	156	412
Offaly	159	315
Roscommon Co Co	301	590
Sligo Co Co	215	337
Tipp NR Co Co	167	323
Tipp SR Co Co	265	342
Waterford Co Co *
Waterford City Co	136	116
Westmeath Co. Co.	284	371
Wexford Co Co	248	730
Wicklow Co Co	348	638
Totals	9,900	21,188

*Not returned.

	Statistics as at 22nd January 2010
VEC’s	Awarded a Grant	Renewals processed
Carlow VEC	513	539
Cavan VEC	589	404
Clare VEC	628	655
Cork City VEC	450	639
Cork Co VEC	715	569
Donegal VEC	1,164	1,062
Dublin Co VEC	407	700
Dublin City VEC	768	1,192
Dún Laoghaire VEC	260	102
Galway City VEC	566	151
Galway VEC	1,022	393
Kerry VEC	1,294	787
Kildare VEC	642	310
Kilkenny VEC	576	309
Laois VEC	367	413
Leitrim VEC	321	227
Limerick Co VEC	618	397
Limerick City VEC	497	230
Longford VEC	337	180
Louth VEC	923	444
Mayo VEC	952	1,050
Meath VEC	743	487
Monaghan VEC	509	653
Offaly VEC	455	341
Roscommon VEC	637	300
Sligo VEC *
Tipp NR VEC	700	362
Tipp SR VEC	598	285
Waterford VEC	343	159
Waterford City VEC	289	245
Westmeath VEC	532	351
Wexford VEC	917	497
Wicklow VEC	612	360
Total	19,944	14,793

*Not returned.