Willie Penrose (Longford-Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 187: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if there are any grants available to students who wish to pursue PhD's in their particular disciplines; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [30347/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Students entering postgraduates courses 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 of €6,270 under the Student Grant Scheme. 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. The new income threshold for this payment is €31,500 for the 2012/13 academic year, increasing relative to the number of family dependents.

Following the changes introduced in Budget 2012 new students entering postgraduate courses, from the 2012/13 academic year onwards, will not be entitled to maintenance payments under the Student Grant Scheme. Postgraduate students continuing on their existing courses will not be affected.

In addition to the above means-tested supports, this year my Department is providing some €38 million to support research activities across a range of programmes, including schemes managed by the Irish Research Council for Humanities and Social Sciences (IRCHSS) and the Irish Research Council for Science, Engineering and Technology (IRCSET). These schemes specifically focus on providing funding support to postgraduate students and early-career post doctoral fellows. The closing date for applications for postgraduate scholarships for the 2012/2013 academic year is now closed. A call for applications for the 2013/2014 academic year will issue towards the end of this year.

The Student Assistance Fund will continue to be made available through the access offices of third-level institutions to assist students in exceptional financial need. Tax relief is also available on postgraduate tuition fees.