Conor Lenihan (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)

I am replying to this matter on behalf of my colleague, the Minister for Education and Science, Deputy Batt O'Keeffe.

I thank the Deputy for giving me an opportunity to outline the Department's position on the application by the student in question for funding under the higher education grants scheme. The Department funds four maintenance grant schemes for third level and further education students: 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, while 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 relating to nationality, residency, means and previous academic attainment. The residency clause of the scheme requires, in the case of a candidate under the age of 23, that the candidate's parents or guardians have been resident in the administrative area of a local authority from 1 October of the previous year or, in the case of an independent mature candidate, that he or she has been resident in the administrative area of a local authority from the same date. The local authority has discretion to waive this requirement in exceptional circumstances. However, the type of situation in which the residency requirement is waived is, for example, one in which an independent mature candidate has missed the residency requirement by a relatively short period of time.

The candidate in question had been out of the country for a period of three years and four months and had only been resident in the country from August 2008. To meet the residency requirement of the scheme, the candidate would need to have been resident in the administrative area of the local authority from October 2007. In cases in which a candidate has been out of the country for a period of time of more than one year before commencing his or her course, irrespective of whether he or she can produce evidence of independent living prior to going abroad, he or she is not eligible to be considered under the residency clause of the scheme.

In this case, the decision on the candidate's eligibility for a third level grant was a matter for Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. Its initial decision - that the candidate did not satisfy the residency requirement of the higher education grants scheme - was communicated to the candidate on 13 October 2008. Following an initial appeal of this decision to the local authority, the county council wrote again to the candidate on 29 October 2008 to advise that the decision remained unchanged. On 28 November 2008, a notice of appeal was received from the candidate by the Department. The Department responded to the candidate on 15 December 2008, advising that as she did not meet the residency requirement prescribed under the higher education grants scheme for 2008, she was ineligible for financial assistance. On that basis, the Department upheld the original decision of Dun Laoghaire County Council and its subsequent decision on appeal.

In publishing the student grant schemes for 2009 and 2010 earlier this year, the Minister for Education and Science gave notice that it is intended to introduce a revised residency requirement of three out of the last five years, with effect from 2010-11, in accordance with the provisions of the Student Support Bill. This will allow for greater flexibility in meeting the residency requirement. The Deputy will appreciate that it is not open to the Minister, the Department or the assessing authorities to depart from the terms and conditions of the maintenance grants schemes in individual cases.

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