Vol. 417 No. 5
202 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Education if he will outline the assistance, financial or otherwise, which is available from his Department or the EC Commission to students who wish to pursue studies during summer vacation in educational institutions within and outside the EC.
Under the terms of cultural agreements between Ireland and various other countries summer school scholarships are awarded by countries to Irish students as follows: Belgium, two; France, four; Holland, one; Germany, two; Italy, ten; Spain, ten. The courses are usually for one month's duration.
Applications are invited by the Department of Education through public advertisement.
Scholarship holders get a fixed amount from the host country towards the cost of registration fees and accommodation.
The Department reciprocates by taking students from above countries for summer courses in this country.
203 Mr. Byrne asked the Minister for Education his views on whether scholarships and/or grant aid for children of low-paid or unemployed workers who wish to attend summer schools in the Gaeltacht should be paid by his Department as the bodies listed by him who award scholarships/grant aid, only assist the children of those members of their own organisations, thus leaving a huge number of children without recourse to financial assistance; whether his attention was drawn to this fact when he supplied this list; and if he will outline the way in which the unemployed parents or low-paid parents of children anxious to further study the Irish language can gain access to the Gaeltacht for their children without financial assistance from his Department.
As I indicated in my reply to a parliamentary question on 20 February 1992 my Department subsidises tuition fees in the Irish summer colleges while Roinn na Gaeltachta subsidises accommodation costs. This ensures that the full economic cost does not fall on the parents of the students attending the colleges.
I regret that there are no funds at the disposal of my Department out of which further financial assistance can be given for this purpose.
