John Brassil (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Regarding the spring-summer 2017 legislative programme and the education (parent and student charter) Bill or any other relevant Bill, will the Minister correct the anomaly whereby a child in a family that qualifies for family income supplement, FIS, does not qualify for a third level grant? I was made aware of this situation by a couple that attended my clinic in Tralee on Monday.

The family currently gets €209 a week in family income supplement. The couple have seven children and the eldest is going to college next year. They contacted SUSI about a grant and were told they did not qualify. Surely, if one Department of the State deems it appropriate to give €209 to help a family to survive in current circumstances, another arm of the State, namely, the Department of Education and Skills should consider it appropriate to provide a grant to educate a child. I urge the Minister to correct that anomaly immediately.

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