Michael Lowry (Tipperary North, Independent)
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Question 1378: To ask the Minister for Education and Science her views on substantially increasing the financial supports available to adults returning to education, in view of the fact that many fourth level university education courses have fees ranging from €10,000 to €30,000 per annum; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29629/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Under my Department's Free Fees Initiative the Exchequer meets the tuition fees of eligible students who are attending approved full-time undergraduate courses in the State. The Free Fees Initiative does not extend to postgraduate study in Ireland, however if a candidate qualifies for the means-tested maintenance grant he/she could have their fees paid up to the maximum fee limit of €5,730, for the 2006/07 academic year.

Under the terms of my Department's Third Level Maintenance Grant Schemes, which are administered on behalf of the Department by the Local Authorities and the Vocational Education Committees, the position is that, generally speaking, students who are entering approved courses for the first time are eligible for grants where they satisfy the relevant conditions as to residence, means, nationality and previous academic attainment. An approved course for the purpose of the Schemes means a full-time undergraduate course of not less than two years duration and full time postgraduate course of not less that one year's duration pursued in an approved institution.

In relation to the value of the grant, the practice in recent years has been to increase the level of maintenance grants annually at least in line with inflation as per the consumer price index. The reference period currently used is the increase in the period to December of the year prior to the relevant academic year. An increase of 3% rather than the 2.5% in the December to December period was approved in respect of the ordinary rates of maintenance for 2006/07 academic year.

The Special Rates of Maintenance Grant, usually referred to as "top-up" grants, payable to disadvantaged grant holders, were introduced with effect from the 2000/01 academic year. The higher, non-adjacent special rate of maintenance is based on the maximum personal rate of Social Welfare Unemployment Assistance. An increase of 22.5% in the 'top-up' maintenance grant for 2006/07. Students qualifying for the higher non-adjacent rate of grant will receive €5,970 in the 2006/07 academic year. The higher non-adjacent rate of maintenance grant is payable to all eligible mature students.

I have no plans at present to depart from the current practice.

Section 473A, Taxes Consolidation Act, 1997, provides tax relief, 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 in non EU countries. Further details and conditions in relation to this tax relief are available from local Tax Offices or alternatively from Revenue's Internet site at www.revenue.ie.