John Perry (Sligo-North Leitrim, Fine Gael)

I am taking this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Ruairí Quinn, and thank Senator Mullen for raising it.

The Senator refers to a change which was introduced in the 2010 student grant schemes. I understand that changes to the 2010 schemes were announced in advance when the grant schemes were published in July 2009 so that students and their families would be aware of them in good time.

The specific issue to which the Deputy refers relates to the change in the residence requirement in the student grant schemes for the 2010-11 academic year. From the start of that academic year, the residence requirement to be met by a student in order to qualify for the maintenance grant was changed from a one-year requirement to have been living in the State directly prior to attending college, to a more flexible requirement of three out of the previous five years for the student.

The main purpose of the change was to ensure that persons applying for grants would have more established links with and integration into the State. However, in many instances, this change provides greater flexibility for students who may be returning from abroad.

In regard to the new consolidated single grant scheme introduced by the Minister this year, this residence requirement is provided for in section 14 of the Student Support Act 2011. The residence requirement must be met by the student himself or herself in all cases and is no longer linked to the residence of the parent or legal guardian of the student. Save where a student has been studying abroad, there are no exceptions made for particular groups - the requirement is applied equally to all.

However, in addition to the increased flexibility introduced by allowing residence to be counted over the five years prior to entering college, a student may now also meet the residence requirement during the course of their studies in order to qualify for a grant. In the past, if a student did not meet the residence requirement on entry to a course, this could not be reassessed even if the requirement could subsequently be met during the course of the student's studies.

Now, all students are treated equally with regard to meeting the residence requirement. All students have greater flexibility in meeting the "three out of five" years requirement. Even students who fail to meet the "three out of five" years at initial registration can now reapply in the course of their studies once they have met the residence requirement.

The Senator will know that it is a matter for individual grant awarding authorities, in the first instance, to determine eligibility for student grants based on all of the terms and conditions, including the residence clause, of the student grant scheme. The decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter for the relevant grant awarding authority.

Where a grant application is refused, the reason for the refusal is given by the grant awarding authority and a student may appeal the decision to the appeals officer in the grant awarding authority. Because of the exceptional needs in this case, the applicant may wish to appeal her case. I think there is a justifiable case for that.

Where the appeals officer decides to reject the appeal, the student may further appeal the decision to the new independent Student Grant Appeals Board, established by the Minister in September this year. The Senator may also be aware that students in exceptional financial circumstances can apply for assistance under the student assistance fund. Information on the fund is available through the access offices of individual third-level colleges, which also provide general assistance and advice to students to enable them to continue with their studies.