John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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72. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if consideration will be given to extending mature student status to persons who may have begun third level education before the age of 23, when their parents means were taken into consideration for assessment, but have since continued further study and have been living independently for several years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48491/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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For student grants purposes, a student may be assessed as an independent student if he/she has attained the age of 23 on the 1st of January of the year of first entry to an approved post leaving certificate course or an approved higher education course or of re-entry to an approved course 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.

I have no plans at present to change the current arrangements.

John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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73. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a person (details supplied) in County Kerry is deemed ineligible for a third level grant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48492/13]

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 it would not be possible for me to say whether or not a student would qualify for a grant.

Officials in my Department have confirmed with Student Universal Support that a letter issued to the student referred to by the Deputy on 21st October 2013 advising that her original application as an independent mature student had been cancelled and that she should reapply as a dependent student. Her new application will be processed when received.

Where an individual applicant considers that she has been unjustly refused a student grant, or that the rate of grant awarded is not the correct one, she may appeal, in the first instance, to SUSI.

Where an individual applicant has had an appeal turned down, in writing, by SUSI, and remains of the view that SUSI has not interpreted the scheme correctly in his/her case, an appeal form outlining the position may be submitted by the applicant to the Student Grant Appeals Board. The relevant appeal form is available to download from .