Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 10 November 2021
178. Deputy Colm Burke asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will review the current eligibility criteria for the Student Grant Scheme in view of the fact that persons that have returned from living abroad cannot get grants to return to college; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54797/21]
View answerUnder the terms of the Student Grant Scheme, grant assistance is awarded to students attending an approved course in an approved institution who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those relating to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means.
With regard to the residency criterion, in order to be eligible for a grant, a "student", as defined in Section 14 of the Student Support Act 2011, must demonstrate that he/she has been resident in the State for at least three years out of the five year period ending on the day before the start of his/her approved course of study. Similar and in some cases more restrictive residency criteria apply in other Member States and jurisdictions e.g. in the UK a student has to be resident for the three continuous years immediately preceding his/her commencement in college. In Denmark, a student has to be resident for a minimum of five years prior to commencing studies.
The three out of five year rule takes cognisance of students who wish to take time out to travel or work abroad. Such students can still meet the residency requirement if they have not been outside the State for more than two of the previous five years.
It is also possible for students, who did not meet the residency requirement at the commencement of their studies, to have their eligibility reviewed if they meet the residency requirement during the course of their studies.
Alternatively a tuition student who meets the residency requirement in a Member State, the UK, EEA or Switzerland and satisfies the nationality requirements may be eligible for a fee grant. There are no plans to amend the current eligibility criteria.
