Vol. 415 No. 1
395 Mr. Farrelly asked the Minister for Education if he will outline the consequences to many families of the proposals to means-test the ESF grants, which he plans to introduce in September, 1992; if he could give an estimate of the total number of families affected by this; the total he expects to save on this measure; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
Students starting on ESF-aided courses in September will not be required to pay fees. Maintenance grants will be paid subject to means testing.
It is not possible to indicate the number of families which will be affected by the introduction of means-testing of ESF maintenance grants.
The number of students on ESF programmes in 1991 was 22,200 whereas the number for which funding was available from Brussels was 19,600. In the interests of equity the emphasis on student grant support must be on helping those from the lower income group to participate in third level education/training programmes. Within the limits of available resources it will be possible to accommodate more students through the application of means-testing.
The provision for the payment of grants and scholarships to students of vocational education committee colleges is £41.833 million in 1992, this represents an increase of 16 per cent on the amount spent in 1991. This is a result of the greatly increased intake of students into the vocational education committee sector colleges. The introduction of means testing is one of the mechanisms being introduced to enable this growth in student numbers to be supported.
