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

I can understand the Senator's concerns about students who live away from their parents but must prove that they are also estranged from their parents. Cases of genuine estrangement are relatively rare and although they have a significant impact on individual students, each one has unique circumstances. Having carefully considered the Senator's amendment I will not be accepting it, for the following reasons. Section 16(3) of the Student Support Act 2011 already makes provision for the Minister to specify a class of applicant or criteria that may be considered in determining whether an applicant is a student of a particular class.

For example, the student grant scheme, SI 201 of 2014, makes provision in Article 21.3 to allow a dependent student to be exempt from having parents' income taken into account where it is established to the satisfaction of the relevant awarding authority that the dependent student is irreconcilably estranged from both parents and neither parent furnishes financial support to the student. This provision allows the awarding authority to assess dependent students in genuine estrangement cases without reference to their parents or guardians' income or address.

The legislation allows latitude. I know the Senator makes the point that the actual practice may be restrictive, but the Student Support Act 2011 allows latitude for specifying some additional class of applicant and the criteria to be applied for such applicant having regard to the resources available and subject to the consent of the Minister for Finance. In effect the proposed amendment would replicate the provision in section 16.3 of the Student Support Act 2011.

In looking at how the student grant scheme is being administered, I will certainly consider the Senator's point to see whether we need to look at the administration. If we are reviewing the scheme again, I would be willing to look at it at that stage. All Members from time to time come across difficult cases where students do not qualify for grants. I would certainly like to review the scheme at some stage, but I do not feel it is appropriate to put it into this legislation.