Vol. 540 No. 2
252 Cecilia Keaveney asked the Minister for Education and Science if a person (details supplied) in County Galway will be eligible to be assessed on her husband's means for an education grant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20321/01]
The third level student support schemes operated under the aegis of my Department provide a means tested grant to students who are pursuing their first undergraduate or postgraduate course and who comply with the terms and conditions of the schemes. The assessment of means for all applications under the schemes is based on gross income from all sources, with certain social welfare and health board payments not taken into account in the calculation of reckon able income. Those means test arrangements have been in operation since 1983 and are uniformly applied.
Under the terms of the student support schemes, a mature student is defined as a candidate who is at least 23 years of age on 1 January of the year of entry or re-entry to an approved course. 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 1 October in the year preceding their 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.
In the case of an independent mature candidate, the candidate's reckonable income shall be that of the candidate and her or his spouse. Galway County Council, the body charged with administering the scheme in this case, has confirmed that it has not received an application from the candidate in question. The candidate should, therefore, contact Galway County Council with a view to having her eligibility for grant assistance assessed by reference to the terms and conditions of the higher education grant scheme relevant to the year of entry to her course.
