Article 14 of the Student Grant Scheme 2012 sets out clearly the eligibility exclusions for a student grant. It states that a student is not eligible for a grant if he or she has been awarded or holds any grant, scholarship, prize, allowance, bursary or award of similar description made from public funds, with the exception of the following awards:
- awards such as scholarships, prizes or bursaries, made by the institution being attended;
- postgraduate research awards where the stipend portion of the award does not exceed a specified amount, which for the relevant academic year, is specified to be €16,000;
- awards to applicants under the Student Assistance Fund or the Fund for Students with Disabilities;
- Easter Week Scholarship Scheme;
- Donogh O'Malley Scholarship Scheme;
- Department of Education and Skills Third Level Bursary Schemes;
- All Ireland Scholarship Scheme; and
- Science Foundation Ireland/Dell Scholarship for Young Women in Engineering.
The Deputy will appreciate that in the absence of all the details that would be included in an individual student's application, it would not be possible to determine which type of bursary the student is in receipt of and consequently whether the student is entitled to hold the bursary and student grant simultaneously.