Paul McGrath (Westmeath, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 440: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if her attention has been to the situation whereby students access to higher education is severely penalised for non-EU students whose parents have resided here for more than five years and where the naturalisation process is taking years to progress; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [42308/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Under the terms of my Department's four maintenance Grants Schemes, grant assistance is awarded to eligible students who satisfy prescribed conditions including those relating to residence, nationality and previous academic attainment.

Under the nationality requirement, students must hold E.U. Nationality, have Official Refugee Status or have been granted Humanitarian Leave to Remain in the State; or have permission to remain in the State by virtue of marriage to an Irish national residing in the State, or be the child of such person, not having EU nationality; or have permission to remain in the State by virtue of marriage to a national of another EU Member State who is residing in the State and who is or has been employed, or self-employed, in the State or be the child of such a person, not having EU nationality; or be nationals of a member county of the European Economic Area, EEA, or Switzerland.

Students must meet the nationality requirement at the time of entry or re-entry to an approved course. However the Grants Schemes contain a 'change in circumstances' clause which provides that a candidate's eligibility may be assessed or re-assessed in the event of a change in circumstances in relation to, inter alia, reckonable income, the number of dependant children, normal residence and nationality, where the candidate becomes an Irish national or the national of another EU member State.

The 'change in circumstances' provision allows candidates who acquire nationality through the naturalisation process, during the course of their studies, to apply to be assessed or re-assessed for grant assistance with effect from the academic term when the change occurs.