Anthony Lawlor (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason students in receipt of a bursary from a college are still entitled to a full third level maintenance grant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6384/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The principal support available to a student in financial terms is provided under the student grant scheme, which makes available means-tested financial assistance to less well off students. The main objective of the student grant scheme is to provide aid to students, who otherwise might not be able to afford to attend college. The scheme is intended to make a contribution to the cost of going to further and higher education. A student must satisfy all of the terms and conditions of the student grant scheme to be eligible for a grant. Bursaries from a college are generally awarded in recognition of merit and provide certain students with support which can cover gaps between the amount of financial aid a student needs to attend college and any available government assistance that he or she is eligible for. For this reason, it would not be appropriate to penalise such students by removing them from the grant system.