Jack Wall (Kildare South, Labour)
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Question 145: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if a disability payment that a person (details supplied) in County Kildare receives is assessed as means as part of the family income in determining an application under the VEC/TLT/PLC grant scheme 2007/08; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29106/07]

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

The following Social Welfare and Health Service Executive 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;

Guardian's Pension (Previously known as Orphan's Pension);

Back to Education Allowance;

Foster Care Allowance;

Domiciliary Care Allowance;

Carer's Allowance.

The decision on eligibility for third level grants is a matter for the relevant assessing authority — i.e. the local authority or VEC. These bodies do not refer individual applications to my Department except, in exceptional cases, where, for example, advice or instruction regarding a particular clause in the relevant scheme is required.

If an individual applicant considers that she/he has been unjustly refused a maintenance grant, or that the rate of grant awarded is not the correct one, she/he may appeal, in the first instance, to the relevant local authority or VEC. Where an individual applicant has had an appeal turned down, in writing, by the relevant local authority or VEC, and remains of the view that the body has not interpreted the schemes correctly in his/her case, an appeal form outlining the position may be submitted by the applicant to my Department.