The decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter for the relevant grant awarding authority. The Deputy will appreciate that in the absence of all of the relevant details that would be contained in an individual's application form and supporting documentation, it would not be possible for me to say whether or not a student should qualify for the special rate of maintenance grant. However, the qualifying criteria for the special rate of maintenance grant in the 2012/13 academic year as specified under the 2012 student grant scheme is as follows: 1. Student must qualify for the standard rate of grant 2. Total reckonable income net of income disregards and Child Dependant Increase must not exceed €22,703 3. As at the 31st December 2011, the reckonable income must include one of the eligible payments listed in Schedule 2 of the scheme.The one parent family payment is an eligible payment for the purpose of qualifying for the special rate of maintenance grant. Maintenance payments are included as reckonable income. The applicant in question should contact their grant awarding authority to confirm the position in relation to their eligibility for the special rate of grant.If the applicant is unhappy with the decision in relation to their grant application he/she may appeal the decision of the grant awarding authority to its appeals officer. Where the appeals officer decides to reject the appeal, the applicant may appeal this decision to my Department or the independent appeals board, as appropriate.
