Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)

The Deputy will be aware that the Department funds four maintenance grant schemes for third level and further education students. These are the higher education grants scheme, the vocational education committees' scholarship scheme, the third level maintenance grants scheme for trainees and the maintenance grant scheme for students attending post-leaving certificate courses. The higher education grants scheme is administered by the local authorities. The other three schemes are administered by the vocational education committees. Under the terms of the maintenance grant schemes, grant assistance is awarded to students who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those which relate to nationality, residency, means and previous academic attainment.

In the case of the individual referred to by the Deputy, the decision on eligibility for third level grants was a matter for Galway County Council. Its initial decision, advised to the candidate referred to by the Deputy on 21 February 2008, was that he did not satisfy the nationality requirement of the higher education grant scheme. Following an initial appeal of this decision to the local authority, Galway County Council again wrote to the candidate on 19 March 2008 advising that the decision remained unchanged.

On 10 April 2008, a notice of appeal was received from the candidate by the Department. The Department responded to the candidate on 18 April 2008 advising that the letter from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform in respect of an application for temporary leave to remain in the State stated that a decision had been made to grant "temporary leave to remain in the State" in this instance. This condition is not one of those specified under the nationality clause of the maintenance grant schemes. On that basis, the Department upheld the original decision, and decision on appeal, of Galway County Council.

The Department is aware that, following Galway County Council's decision on appeal, the council reviewed the application based on e-mail correspondence with the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform. It is the practice that clarification required in regard to nationality issues for grant eligibility is referred to the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform through the Department in the first instance. In the circumstances, the Department has recently made contact with the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform in respect of this case. A formal written request for clarification will issue from the Department to the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform to establish more clearly the grounds on which the candidate was granted temporary leave to remain in the State. The Department will correspond directly with the candidate and with Galway County Council, if necessary, following clarification from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform in the matter.

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