Jim O'Keeffe (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 966: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the reason farm assist is not included in the list of social welfare payments which are excluded in calculation of reckonable income for the purpose of special rate top up maintenance grant under the higher education grants scheme; and her views on whether this approach militates against access to third level education by farm families on low income. [15377/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The assessment of means under my Department's Third Level Student Maintenance Grant Schemes is based on gross income from all sources, with specified social welfare and health board payments being excluded from the calculation.

The following Social Welfare and Health Board Payments are excluded in the calculation of reckonable income:

Child Benefit, — Family Income Supplement, — Disability Allowance (where paid to the candidate), — Blind Pension (where paid to the candidate),

Means Tested One Parent Family Payments,

Orphan's Pensions,

Back to Education Allowance, — Foster Care Allowance,

Domiciliary Care Allowance and

Carer's Allowance;

Farm Assist is not excluded in the calculation of reckonable income. I have no plans at present to depart from the above practice in respect of the determination of income. However, Farm Assist is one of a list of social welfare payments identified for the purpose of qualifying for the special rate of maintenance grant.

To qualify for the special rate of maintenance grant 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 Dependent 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.

Qualification for the special rates of maintenance grant entitles a student to a further payment under the grant schemes in addition to the standard rate of grant. In the current academic year an addition grant of €2,860 is available to a student under the special rates of maintenance grant who qualifies for the non-adjacent rate of grant. Under the 2006 Schemes such students could benefit from a total of €5,970 in the 2006/07 academic year.