Written answers
Tuesday, 28 November 2006
Department of Education and Science
Higher Education Grants
10:00 am
Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 404: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she will amend the qualifying guidelines for the special rate top-up maintenance grant in Budget 2007 to include parents who earn less than €20,000 and cannot qualify for family income supplement due to insufficient working hours. [40297/06]
Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 441: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she will amend the guidelines for the special rate top-up maintenance grant in view of the fact that some people earning less than €20,000 can not get this grant; and that the Minister review the guidelines. [40287/06]
Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 404 and 441 together.
To qualify for the top-up grant in the academic year 2006/2007 all candidates must satisfy the following conditions:
1. Qualify for the ordinary maintenance grant in respect of the academic year 2006/07;
2. Total reckonable income limit in the tax year to 31 December 2005 must not exceed €16,748 (net of standard exclusions, as set out in the 2006 Maintenance Grants Schemes and net of Child Dependant increase (CDI) payments, where applicable);
3. As at 31 December 2005, the reckonable income of parent(s)/guardian(s), the candidate himself/herself, or the income of the spouse/partner, as the case may be, must include one of the eligible social welfare payments prescribed under the Scheme.
List of Eligible Payments
1. Social Assistance Payments
Blind Person's Pension
Carer's Allowance
Deserted Wife's Allowance
Disability Allowance
Farm Assist
Lone Parent's allowance
Unemployment Assistance (where held for 391 days or more)
Old Age (Non-Contributory) Pension
One parent family payment
Orphans (Non-Contributory) pension
Pre-retirement allowance
Prisoner's Wife's Allowance
Widow's/Widower's (Non-Contributory) Pension
2. Social Insurance Payments
Carer's Benefit
Deserted Wife's Benefit
Invalidity pension
Unemployability Supplement
Occupational Injuries Death Benefit (Orphan's pension)
Occupational Injuries Death Benefit (pension for a widow or widower)
Old Age Contributory Pension
Orphan's (Contributory) Allowance
Unemployment Benefit (continuous for at least 12 months)
Widow's/Widower's (Contributory) Pension
Retirement Pension
3. Family Income Supplement (FIS)
4. Designated Programmes
Back to Education Allowance
Back to Work Allowance (Employees)
Back to Work Enterprise Allowance
Community Employment Scheme
FÁS Training Programmes, including Apprenticeships
Job Start
Part time job incentive scheme
Vocational Training Opportunities Scheme (VTOS)
5. Others
(a) In receipt of payments under the Fáilte Ireland Skills Programme equivalent to a social welfare payment;
(b) In receipt of payments under the FIT (Fastrack to IT) initiative equivalent to a social welfare payment;
(c) Participants on a training course approved by a Government Department, State Agency or Area Partnership and who were in receipt of an eligible payment prior to progressing to the programme;
(d) Grant aided employees in social economy enterprises;
(e) In receipt of payments under the Senior Traveller Training Centre programmes.
The annual income threshold for the special rates of maintenance grant is increased, in line with the relevant social welfare payments. The higher, non-adjacent special rate of maintenance is based on the maximum personal rate of Social Welfare Unemployment Assistance.
While I have no plans to depart, in the foreseeable future, from the current practice in relation to the Special Rate of Maintenance Grant under my Department's student maintenance grant schemes, I am committed to ongoing improvements in the scheme including increasing the income limits and the rate of payment, as resources permit.
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