Vol. 519 No. 4
126 Mr. Kirk asked the Minister for Education and Science the circumstances in which a third level student may apply for a higher education grant in their own right, where they have an income independent of their parents and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13954/00]
The Local Authorities (Higher Education Grants) Acts, 1968 to 1992, provide that the means to be taken into account for the purpose of assessing eligibility under the scheme are those of the student, if any, and of the parents or guardians of the student.
The Acts make special provision for the assessment of means in the case of mature students. Under the terms of the higher education grants scheme, mature students are categorised as either independent mature students or mature students dependent on parents. An independent mature student is defined to mean a mature student who was not ordinarily resident at home with his or her parents from the October preceding entry to an approved course. Independent mature students are deemed to be self-supporting and are assessed without reference to either their parents' income or address. The statutory definition of a mature student is a person of not less than 23 years of age who has reached that age on 1 January in the year of entry to an approved course.
