Jim Daly (Cork South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 17: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the assistance he will make available to a student who has to enrol in a boarding school 25 miles from home to complete their fifth and sixth years of secondary schooling through the medium of Irish in view of the fact that it is only available at their local school up to junior certificate level; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [13079/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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My Department provides a Remote Area Boarding Grant for pupils who are educationally disadvantaged, because of their remoteness from schools, in order to provide an opportunity for them to attend school on the same basis as other pupils not so disadvantaged.

Grants are paid for pupils whose normal place of residence is outside the range of public transport services to a school providing suitable free second-level education.

To qualify for a boarding grant, an applicant must be: normally resident in the State; and resident at least 4.8 km from a second-level school where suitable free second-level education is available and more than 3.2 km from a pick-up point on a transport service to such a school; and unable to obtain a place in a suitable second-level school within 25 km of his/her normal place of residence.

An application form for a grant under the scheme is available on my Department's website.