Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Eligibility for grant assistance for the 2005/06 academic year must be assessed under the terms of my Department's Higher Education Grant Scheme 2005. Clause 2.2 of the Scheme states, inter alia, that: "A candidate shall not be eligible to hold a grant under this Scheme if s/he holds: (i) a scholarship/grant awarded by another local Authority, a Vocational Education Committee or the Department of Education and Science, or (ii) any other award payable from public funds, or (iii) the equivalent of (i) or (ii) from another E.U. Member State. The provisions at (ii) or (iii) do not include awards such as scholarships, prizes or bursaries, made by the institution being attended or postgraduate research grants where the grant received does not exceed a specified amount, which for the 2005/2006 academic year, is specified to be €12,700. In addition the provision at (ii) does not include awards to candidates under the Student Assistance Fund, the Millennium Partnership Fund and the Fund for Students with Disabilities."

I understand that the student referred to by the Deputy is benefitting from a postgraduate research grant which totals €19,050. This grant is broken down into a maintenance amount of €12,700 and an amount of €6,350 for payment of fees and support for research. It is, therefore, considered that the total value of the award for the student referred to by the Deputy exceeds the specified amount of €12,700 as outlined in Clause 2.2 of the Scheme and makes the student ineligible for assistance under the 2005 Higher Education Grants Scheme.