Written answers

Wednesday, 14 December 2011

Department of Education and Skills

Higher Education Grants

10:00 pm

Photo of Brendan SmithBrendan Smith (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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Question 118: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a person (details supplied) who hopes to commence a four year degree course next October and previously did a two year diploma in DIT-VEC, 2004 to 2006, still qualifies for full or partial free fees or full maintenance grants; if the person has an entitlement to all services and grants which are available to a mature student; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40224/11]

Photo of Ruairi QuinnRuairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter for the relevant grant awarding authority. The Deputy will appreciate that in the absence of all of the relevant details that would be contained in an individual's application form it would not be possible for me to say whether or not a student would qualify for a student grant. However, to satisfy the terms and conditions of the student grant scheme in relation to progression, a student must be moving from year to year within a course having successfully completed the previous year or be transferring from one course to another where the award for the subsequent course is of a higher level than the previous course.

The objective of this policy is to help as many students as possible in obtaining one qualification at each level of study thereby increasing their employment prospects. Ultimately, a student must apply to his her grant awarding authority to have their eligibility for a grant assessed.

Under my Department's Free Fees Schemes tuition fees are not paid in respect of a student pursuing a second undergraduate course. However, where a student already holds a Level 6 or Level 7 qualification and is now progressing to a Level 8 course without necessarily having received an exemption from the normal duration of the course they may be deemed eligible for free fees. The actual determination of a student's eligibility for free fees is a matter for the third level institution to which a student wishes to attend.

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