Anthony Lawlor (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 230: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a non-EU dependent child of a person who has permission to remain in the State by virtue of marriage to an Irish national residing in the State is deemed eligible to apply for a maintenance grant by the vocational education committee however a dependent child, not of EU nationality, of an Irish citizen is not eligible to apply; if there are any plans to revise the criteria for maintenance grants in respect of residency status; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11036/12]

Ruairi 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 - local authority or VEC.

The Deputy will appreciate that in the absence of all of the relevant details that would be contained in an individual's application form, including those relating to nationality, it would not be possible for me to say whether or not a student would qualify for a grant. However, the nationality requirements for the student grant scheme are set out in section 14 of the Student Support Act 2011 and regulation 5 of the Student Support Regulations 2011. In summary, it is the student, and not his/her parents, that must meet the nationality requirements in their own right to qualify for a student grant.