Joe Higgins (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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Question 363: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the reason grants are not made available for persons who wish to take up part-time third level degree courses, particularly parents of young children for whom a part time course is their only option. [21668/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Part-time courses are not approved courses under the terms of the Maintenance Grant Schemes. Any extension of the student support schemes to part-time studies would have significant cost implications. I have no plans at present to extend the grant schemes to include part-time students. I wish to advise the Deputy of the provisions under Section 473A, Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997. This provides tax relief for eligible persons, at the standard rate of tax, for tuition fees paid in respect of approved courses at approved colleges of higher education including certain approved undergraduate and postgraduate courses in E.U. Member States and postgraduate courses in non-EU countries. Tax relief for courses of at least two years' duration at undergraduate level extends to approved full/part-time courses in both private and publicly funded third level colleges in the State and any other EU Member State and approved full/part-time courses operated by Colleges in any EU Member State providing distance education in the State.

In 2001, Section 29 of the 2001 Finance Act amended the Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997 to provide for: — (a) The amalgamation of the then existing four tax reliefs for third level education fees (b) The section also extended the relief by removing the restrictions: for repeat years,; on individuals undertaking more than one course; on individuals already holding a third level qualification; and the exclusion of certain courses in medicine, dentistry, veterinary medicine and teacher training (c) The relief is also extended to postgraduate fees paid for third level education in private and publicly funded third level colleges in non-EU countries. (d) Tax relief for undergraduate fees is also now available in EU countries for duly accredited private third level colleges.

Tax Relief on tuition fees is claimed directly from the Tax Office using an I.T. 31 Form. Details of approved colleges and courses are also available on Revenue's Internet site at www.revenue.ie.