Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 443: To ask the Minister for Education and Science when a person (details supplied) in County Louth will receive her higher education grant for this term; her views on the time it has taken to process this payment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37843/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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My Department funds four maintenance grant schemes for third level and further education students. These are the higher education grants scheme, the vocational education committees' scholarships scheme, the third level maintenance grants scheme for trainees and the maintenance grants scheme for students attending post-leaving certificate courses. The higher education grants scheme is administered by local authorities. The other three schemes are administered by the vocational education committees. The process of assessing eligibility for third level or further education grants is a matter for the relevant local authority or VEC. Among the factors which give rise to delays in processing applications is where the administering body is awaiting further information-documentation from applicants.

Officials at Louth County Council, the local authority responsible for assessing the candidate in this case, have confirmed that each candidate, who is in receipt of a grant for the previous academic year, is issued with a renewal form for the next academic year. End of year results must also be returned with this renewal form. These forms were issued by Louth County Council in early July this year. The candidate in question returned her end of year results on 22 August and the renewal form was returned only on 30 September 2005. At that stage the payment in question was too late for inclusion in the first and second round of payments issued by Louth County Council. This candidate's grant issued from Louth County Council to the college on 1 December 2005.

Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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Question 444: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if all third level students from County Louth who are entitled to higher education grants received their payments for the present term; if not, the reason for the delay; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37844/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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My Department funds four maintenance grant schemes for third level and further education students. These are the higher education grants scheme, the vocational education committees' scholarships scheme, the third level maintenance grants scheme for trainees and the maintenance grants scheme for students attending post-leaving certificate courses. The higher education grants scheme is administered by local authorities. The other three schemes are administered by the vocational education committees. The process of assessing eligibility for third level or further education grants is a matter for the relevant local authority or VEC. Among the factors which give rise to delays in processing applications is where the administering body has to await further information-documentation from applicants, or applicants have failed to submit complete application forms. It is, therefore, not possible to indicate the number of outstanding applications for higher education grants not yet determined and paid at this stage but it is understood from officials at Louth County Council that all candidates who have submitted full applications to date have been processed and grant payments for eligible students have been paid or will be paid to the relevant colleges by the end of this week.

My Department, in recognition of the importance of the timely payment of grants to eligible students, is engaged in ongoing consultations with the Irish Vocational Education Association and the County and City Managers' Association with a view to enhancing the existing arrangements and ensure the earlier processing of applications and the making of payments to eligible students.