Vol. 495 No. 7
733 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will ensure that funds are made available for the post leaving certificate grant scheme in the current year and not withheld until January 1999 as applicants have been informed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [21606/98]
The programme for Government, An Action Programme for the Millennium, provides a commitment to the introduction of equitable support for students attending post leaving certificate courses. I have honoured this commitment with the introduction of a maintenance grants scheme for students attending PLC courses in the current academic year.
The maintenance grants scheme for students attending PLC courses was issued to the vocational education committees on 28 August 1998. The closing date for receipt of applications was Friday, 16 October. It is anticipated that vocational education committees will make the first payments to students, which will be retrospective to September 1998, in January 1999. From February 1999 payments will be made on a monthly basis.
Bearing in mind the new administrative arrangements which have had to be put in place for the introduction of this scheme, and also the number of students involved, I consider that January is a reasonable date to commence payments and I would reiterate that the payments will be retrospective to September 1998.
