Clare Daly (Dublin North, Socialist Party)
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227. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if an apprentice will now be able to avail of a student grant as a result of the changes in the payments introduced in budget 2014. [48823/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Under the terms of the Student Grant Scheme, grant assistance is awarded to students who meet the prescribed conditions of funding including those which relate to nationality, residency, approved course, previous academic attainment and means.

To avail of funding an applicant must be entering an approved full-time course in an approved institution as set out in the Student Support Act 2011 and Regulation 3 and 4 of the Student Support Regulations 2013.

Apprentices are paid a training allowances by SOLAS for phases of their training spent off the job. This allowance is equivalent to the wages they receive from their employers for on the job phases and is unaffected by the budgetary changes. The course of study they undertake would not satisfy the term and conditions of the Student Grant Scheme 2013.