Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I know the Deputy has a particular interest in this area and thank him for raising the matter. As he is aware, under the terms of the student grant scheme, grant assistance is awarded to students who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those relating to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means. The assessment of means under the Department's student grant scheme is based on gross income from all sources. Therefore, all income is assessed from the same starting point, eliminating any distortion which might arise from different spending decisions.

Unfortunately, it is not currently proposed to depart from the existing arrangements for the determination of the eligibility for a student grant and allow for discretion to be applied to education grant application decisions that fall marginally outside the income guidelines. The means test arrangements of the student grant scheme are applied nationally. In the case of both employed and self-employed applicants, gross income is assessed with certain specified social welfare and health service payments excluded. The income limits for grant eligibility are increased relative to the number of students in a family applying for a grant. In recognition of the additional cost to families where more than one person is attending college, an increment for each additional relevant person can be applied to the income thresholds at the rates outlined in the student grant scheme. The maximum increment that can be applied per relevant person is €4,980.

The eligibility of an applicant, or the level of the grant awarded, may be re-assessed by the grant-awarding authority in the event of a change of circumstances in the academic year. The applicant should, in the first instance, contact the relevant awarding body and notify it of the change in circumstances. As the Deputy said, there is also an appeals system.

I understand Deputy Daly is looking for a forum in which we can address these issues. I would certainly be happy to go to the education committee to address the whole area.

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