Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 26 Feb 2002

Vol. 549 No. 3

Written Answers. - Higher Education Grants.

Breeda Moynihan-Cronin

Ceist:

428 Mrs. B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will review the new assistance access fund to rectify the fact that so few students have availed of the fund due to the fact that the income cut-off point was too low; the number of students who have availed of the fund to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6579/02]

Minister for Education and Science (Dr. Woods)

The report of the action group on access to third level education makes detailed recommendations concerning the introduction of special rates of maintenance grants for disadvantaged students, usually referred to as "top-up" grants. The action group considered that the target group of "those most in need" could best be defined in terms of the child dependants of people receiving long-term welfare payments, in respect of whom continued child dependant allowance is being paid, by virtue of their being in full-time education. This scheme covers child dependants in the age group 18 to 22 years. The action group recommended that, subject to specific conditions, the special rates of maintenance grant should also be available to mature students, that is, students aged 23 and over. My Department forwarded full details of this initiative to the local authorities and vocational education committees in July 2001, with a request that payment be made with effect from the 2000-01 academic year.

Finalised data in relation to both the 2000-01 and 2001-02 academic years on the numbers benefiting under the initiative, and the total expenditure involved, are not available within my Department, as a number of local authorities and vocational education committees have yet to complete the assessment process in respect of students applying for the special rates of maintenance grant.

I have given a commitment that the eligibility criteria for the special rates of maintenance grant will be reviewed with a view to extending eligibility. A first step will be to assess the coverage and effectiveness of the implementation of the special rates in its first year of operation.

Apart from the maintenance grant schemes and the free fees initiative, under which my Department meets the cost of tuition fees for eligible undergraduate students in approved institutions, financial support is also available to students in approved third level institutions through the student assistance-access fund. The objectives of the fund, which is ESF-aided, are to assist students, in a sensitive and compassionate manner, who might otherwise, due to their financial circumstances, be unable to continue their third level studies.

The fund is administered on a discretionary and confidential basis by each third level institution and provides direct financial support for disadvantaged students to assist them to remain on in college. I significantly increased the provision for this fund from €2.49 million, £1.964 million, in respect of the 2000-01 academic year to €7.49 million, £5.9 million, in respect of the 2001-02 academic year.