John Browne (Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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Question 316: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason an application for a higher education grant was not approved despite the fact that they met all the criteria in respect of a person (details supplied in County Wexford. [18229/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The responsibility for deciding on eligibility for a student grant is a matter for the relevant grant awarding authority, in this case County Wexford VEC. My Department understands that the student in question was awarded a grant on 3 April last.

Robert Dowds (Dublin Mid West, Labour)
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Question 317: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if participation in a postgraduate course run by an organisation (details supplied), which is not recognised by the National Qualifications Authority of Ireland as an accredited course, will disqualify a person from eligibility for a third level grant if they were to subsequently participate in an accredited post graduate course from a recognised third level institution. [18265/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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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. Having previously attended, but not completed, any postgraduate course or equivalent, an applicant will be required to complete an equivalent period of study on an approved postgraduate course before being eligible to be considered for a grant. 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. Details in relation to tax relief in respect of any tuition fees payable are available from the Revenue Commissioners.