Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 385: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills if various Vocational Education Committees and Local Authorities here which administer higher education student grants report to her on a weekly basis in the number of grants they have awarded; the number awarded in respect of each of the awarding authorities; the number of grants awarded to date in 2010; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18864/10]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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Normal reporting arrangements between the grant awarding authorities and my Department are on the basis of three financial reconciliations per year, a survey in January each year on progress in processing grant applications and an annual statistical return at the end of each academic year. This academic year, given the numbers of grant applications and the capacity of awarding authorities to process these, my Department had requested a weekly update from the awarding authorities to enable monitoring of the administration of student grants. This was an interim measure which was in place until the end of December 2009.

The following table details the number of new applications awarded a grant together with the number of renewal processed retuned in the January Survey. The information has been supplied to my Department by the local authorities and the Vocational Education Committees.

Both VECs and local authorities are experiencing pressures due to the increased workload associated with the increased demand for student grants, particularly in the context of the recruitment moratorium in the public sector which, in some instances, will have impacted on the processing of grants. However, every effort is being made by these bodies to ensure that students get decisions on their grant applications and are paid as soon as possible.

Given the likelihood of further increases in the numbers of grant applications, my Department is working closely with local authorities, VECs and other relevant stakeholders to continue development of a number of initiatives to support more effective delivery of student grants, including service improvements in application, assessment and payments arrangements.