Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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233. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which qualification income guidelines affect eligibility for a higher education grant in the case of a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25133/13]

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. 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 residency and or nationality, it would not be possible for me to say whether or not a student would qualify for a grant. Budget 2013 provided for a 3% reduction in grant income thresholds in 2013 grant scheme. The measure will apply to both new and renewal. This reduction in thresholds does not apply to the threshold for the special rate of grant and the threshold for the €2,000 contribution at postgraduate will still be €31,500 for the 2013/14 academic year. The student grant scheme for the 2013/14 academic year was published on 16th May 2013 and is available on the studentfinance.ie website. To determine eligibility, for the 2013/2014 academic year, a student may submit a fully completed online grant application to SUSI, via studentfinance.ie.