Written answers

Thursday, 17 May 2012

Department of Education and Skills

Higher Education Grants

5:00 pm

Photo of Jerry ButtimerJerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 60: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a person (details supplied) in County Cork who is continuing postgraduate study of the same subject can be considered an existing postgraduate student for the purposes of a higher education grant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24694/12]

Photo of Ruairi QuinnRuairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The Deputy will appreciate that in the absence of all of the relevant details that would be contained in an individual's application form and supporting documentation, it would not be possible for me to say whether or not a student should qualify for a grant. However, in the context of the necessary but difficult expenditure reduction measures announced in Budget 2012, students entering new postgraduate courses from the 2012/13 academic year onwards will not be entitled to maintenance payments under the Student Grant Scheme. This would appear to be the situation in the case adverted to by the Deputy. Existing postgraduate students in receipt of a grant for their current course and continuing on the same course in the 2012/13 academic year will not be affected.

Those students who meet the qualifying conditions for the special rate of grant will be eligible to have their post-graduate tuition fees paid up to the maximum fee limit under the Student Grant Scheme. In addition, a further limited number of students who would previously have qualified under the standard grant thresholds will qualify to have a €2,000 contribution made towards the costs of their fees. My Department estimates that this will help an additional 4,000 postgraduate students. There will be a new income threshold for this payment which will be lower than the standard grant threshold.

The income threshold for this level of grant is currently being determined in the context of the formulation of the student grant scheme for the 2012/13 academic year. It is expected that the scheme will be published to coincide with the projected go-live date for the new online grant application system on 28 May 2012.

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