Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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Question 1303: To ask the Minister for Education and Science her legislative plans for the coming Dáil session that will address the issue of vocational education committees having sole responsibility for the administration of all new applications for third level college grants from 2007; will the same legislation provide for a new unified scheme; the measures she proposes to introduce to address the anomalies and difficulties experienced by many students, including those no longer in receipt of parental support and not yet 24 years of age or who have attained the age qualification but are living in the home of their parents; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [28988/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy will be aware that in accordance with the commitment in the Agreed Programme for Government I plan to introduce a single unified scheme of maintenance grants for students in higher education with effect from 2007/08 academic year. This will, I believe provide for a more coherent administration system which will facilitate consistency of application, improved client accessibility and ensure the timely delivery of grants to those who need them most.

To effect this requires the introduction of a new statutory basis for the scheme to replace the existing arrangements which involve a mix of statutory and non-statutory administrative schemes. Accordingly the Government has approved the drafting of a new student support Bill which will place all student support schemes on a statutory footing for the first time, including providing for the designation of an appropriate awarding authority and provide the general basis on which grants will be awarded to eligible students.