Dáil Éireann Debate, Friday - 16 September 2016
425. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Education and Skills the annual cost of restoring grants for postgraduate education and paying the equivalent of the back to education allowance as maintenance to those eligible for it. [25365/16]
View answerThe Deputy will be aware of the difficult expenditure reduction measures taken in recent budgets as a consequence of the challenging economic circumstances. A decision in Budget 2012 removed maintenance payments for new students entering post graduate courses from the 2012/13 academic year onwards. However, eligible students can still qualify for limited fee support. If maintenance grants were reintroduced for post-graduate students along similar lines to under-graduate students, the estimated cost would be in the region of €50 million. This costing assumes that the number of post-graduate grant holders in receipt of SUSI grants would increase to the level prior to the removal of post-graduate maintenance grants in Budget 2012.
The Deputy will be aware that the Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) is administered by the Department of Social Protection. Further enquiries in respect of the BTEA should be referred to the Department of Social Protection.
The Programme for a Partnership Government contains a commitment to "increase financial supports for post graduate students with a particular focus on those from low income households". All proposals made in relation to education expenditure, including changes to post graduate student grants, will be considered in the context of Budget 2017.
