Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 1698: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the reason foreign nationals have been excluded from the higher education grants system in spite of the fact that they are parents of Irish citizens (details supplied). [30100/08]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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Under the terms of the maintenance grants scheme grant assistance is awarded to students who meet the prescribed conditions of funding including those which relate to nationality, residency, means and previous academic attainment.

The Nationality requirement as set out in the 2008 Grant schemes states that candidates must:

hold E.U. Nationality; or

have Official Refugee Status; or

have been granted Humanitarian Leave to Remain in the State (prior to the Immigration Act 1999); or

be a person in respect of whom the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has granted permission to remain following a determination not to make a deportation order under section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999; 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 country of the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland.

A non-EU national who has been granted permission to remain in the State on the basis of an Irish born child does not comply with the above conditions and is ineligible for grant assistance under the nationality requirements of the Schemes.

Any extension to the scope of the maintenance grants schemes can be considered only in the light of available resources and in the context of competing demands within the education sector.