Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 22 October 2024

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills

Financial Supports for Tertiary Level Students: Discussion

12:05 pm

Photo of Sorca ClarkeSorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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I wish to ask a subsequent question. A considerable number of years ago, another circumstance presented to me, where the step-parent income was not taken into account. Is that still the case and how common is it? If that is the case, then it is not being assessed on household income. The income of the mother of the child was taken into the account but the mother’s husband’s income was not because he was not the biological parent of the learner. Surely, in circumstances like that, not only are there issues for those who desperately need additional financial resources to be able to get to college and do the best they can there, but there is also an imbalance on the other side, where if it is a household income, then it should be a household income, not a parental-child relationship income. Is that still the case?