Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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84. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will expedite a Student Universal Support Ireland application in respect of a person (details supplied); and if he will expedite this application. [43955/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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For student grants purposes, students are categorised according to their circumstances either as students dependent on parents or a legal guardian, or as independent mature students. A student may be assessed as an independent mature student if he/she has attained the age of 23 on the 1st of January of the year of first entry to an approved course or of re-entry following a break in studies of at least three years, and is not ordinarily resident with his/her parents from the previous 1 October. Otherwise he/she would continue to be assessed on the basis of his/her parents' income.

Officials in my Department have confirmed with Student Universal Support Ireland that the student referred to by the Deputy applied initially as an independent student. He was ineligible to be assessed as an independent student and reapplied as a mature dependent student on 5th October 2013. This application is currently awaiting provisional assessment and the student will be notified directly of the outcome.