Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)
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Question 1100: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the reason a person (details supplied) in County Mayo cannot obtain grant assistance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1232/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Under the terms of the third level student support schemes — clause 7.6 of the higher education grants scheme — maintenance grants are not payable to candidates who already hold an undergraduate degree and are pursuing a second undergraduate degree. Similarly tuition fees are not payable in respect of a second period of college attendance at the same level. As the student referred to by the Deputy already holds a Bachelor of Religious Science degree, she is ineligible for a higher education grant or to benefit under the free fees initiative in respect of her nursing studies. As the rules governing the schemes are of general application, exceptions cannot be made in individual instances.

Tax relief, however, is available in respect of undergraduate fees paid in publicly funded colleges here and in other EU member states, as well as in private colleges in the State. This relief applies at the standard rate of tax and is available to full-time and part-time postgraduate students. Further details and conditions of this tax relief are available from local tax offices.