Joanna Tuffy (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 499: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the position regarding the special rate of higher education maintenance grant and the need to ensure that all independent mature students who earned less than the income threshold for this special rate of grant would qualify for this grant without requiring to be in receipt of one of the qualifying social welfare payments or training allowance; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25272/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Report of the Action Group on Access to Third Level Education made detailed recommendations concerning the introduction of special rates of maintenance grants for disadvantaged students.

The target group of "those most in need" was defined in terms of the dependants of people receiving long-term welfare payments, where the necessary conditions are fulfilled. The special rates of grant are also available to mature students who meet the prescribed conditions.

In order to qualify for the special rate of maintenance grant a candidate must meet a number of conditions, including the following:—

(i)the candidate must already qualify for one of my Department's standard maintenance grants; and

(ii)total reckonable income must not exceed the specified limit for the academic year in question; and

(iii)on the operative date, the income into the household must include one of the specified long-term social welfare payments.

It is not proposed, at present, to change the current terms and conditions in respect of the special rates of maintenance grant.