Finian McGrath
Question:351. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills the grants available to a person (details supplied) in County Donegal. [34785/13]
View answerTuesday, 16 July 2013
Questions (351)
Written answers
The main financial support available to students attending higher education is my Department's Student Grant Scheme. Under the terms of the Student Grant Scheme, grant assistance is awarded to students who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those which relate to nationality, residency, approved course, previous academic attainment and means. Currently maintenance support is not available for students entering postgraduate courses. However, those who meet the qualifying conditions for the special rate of grant will be eligible to have their postgraduate tuition fees paid up to the maximum fee limit of €6,270. A postgraduate student may qualify to have a €2,000 contribution made towards the costs of their fees. The income threshold for this payment is €31,500 for the 2013/14 academic year, increasing relative to the number of family dependants. The Deputy will appreciate that in the absence of all of the relevant details that would be contained in an individual's application, it would not be possible to say if the student would qualify for a student grant. To determine eligibility for the 2013/14 academic year the student should submit an online grant application to Student Universal Support Ireland via www.susi.ie. Eligibility for welfare support is determined and administered by the Department of Social Protection. Any change to its qualifying criteria for the back to education allowance is a matter for my colleague, the Minister for Social Protection.