David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 443: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if, under current legislation, students who would normally qualify for full rate third level maintenance grants are entitled to receive the full rate of grant in addition to financial assistance from scholarships wholly or partly funded by public moneys, such as the recently announced All Ireland Scholarships; if not, if he is proposing to make changes to this situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17769/08]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

By reference to clause 2.2 of the Higher Education Grants Scheme and clause 2.1 of the Vocational Education Committees' Scholarship Scheme, a candidate is not eligible to hold a grant if she/he holds:

(i) a scholarship/grant awarded by another Local Authority, a Vocational Educational Committee or the Department of Education, or

(ii) any other award payable from public funds, or

(iii) the equivalent of (i) or (ii) from another E.U. Member State.

The provisions at (ii) or (iii) do not include awards such as scholarships, prizes or bursaries, made by the institution being attended or postgraduate research grants where the grant received does not exceed a specified amount, which for the 2007/08 academic year, is specified to be €16,000. In addition the provision at (ii) does not include awards to candidates under the Student Assistant Fund, the Millennium Partnership Fund and the Fund for Students with Disabilities.

If eligible, a holder of the following scholarships may also hold a maintenance grant:

(1) Easter Week Scholarship

(2) Donagh O'Malley Scholarship.

The All Ireland Scholarship Scheme was announced in March of this year and will only take effect for students sitting the 2008 Leaving Certificate examination. The new All Ireland Scholarship Scheme is only open to those who qualify and are in receipt of the maintenance grant.