Joe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 618: To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills if family support considerations will be taken into account when allocating student grants to mature students; if grants to mature students will be cut; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [29213/10]

Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)
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The assessment of means under my Department's third level 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.

For student grants purposes, students are categorised according to their circumstances either as students dependent on parents or a legal guardian, or as independent mature students. An independent mature student is defined as a mature student who was not ordinarily resident with his or her parents or legal guardian from the October preceding entry to an approved course.

When assessing the means of students other than independent mature students, the schemes specify that parental income or legal guardian's income must be taken into account. Independent mature students, on the other hand, are assessed without reference to their parents' income or that of a legal guardian. The reckonable income of an independent mature student is that of the candidate only and of his or her spouse where appropriate.

Under the student grant schemes all mature candidates, if approved, are automatically provided with the higher non-adjacent rate of maintenance which, this year, ranges from €810 to €6,355 depending on individual circumstances. The entitlement to the non-adjacent rate applies regardless of how far the college is from the mature candidate's residence and whether or not the candidate is dependent on or independent of his/her parent(s) or guardian(s). In addition, the childcare costs of a number of students are also supported under the ESF-aided Student Assistance Fund, which is resourced by my Department and allocated directly to students by their higher education institutions.

Changes in the rates of student grant are considered as part of the annual Budget process each year and rates become effective on a financial, rather than an academic year basis.