Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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915. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her plans to rectify the anomaly within procedures for assessing entitlement for the special rate of the Student Universal Support Ireland grant, particularly in circumstances where a parent is in receipt of illness benefit but has actually lost their job and cannot receive the special rate of grant. [41881/14]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The qualifying criteria for the special rate of maintenance grant in the 2014/15 academic year as specified under the 2014 student grant scheme is as follows:

1. Student must qualify for the standard rate of grant;

2. Total reckonable income net of income disregards and Child Dependant Increase must not exceed €22,703;

3. As at 31st December, 2013, the reckonable income must include one of the eligible long-term social welfare payments prescribed in the Student Grant Scheme.

Illness Benefit is considered to be a short-term social welfare payment and, therefore, it is not included as an eligible payment for the purposes of the special rate of maintenance grant.

It is not proposed to depart from the existing arrangements for the determination of the eligibility for the special rate of maintenance grant.

Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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916. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of persons who applied for the special rate of grant from the Student Universal Support Ireland since its establishment, but who were refused on the basis that one of their parents was in receipt of illness benefit. [41882/14]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The decision on eligibility for student grant applications for the 2014/15 academic year is a matter for the centralised grant awarding authority, SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland).

Under the terms of the student grant scheme, grant assistance is awarded to students who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those relating to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means.

The qualifying criteria for the special rate of maintenance grant in the 2014/15 academic year as specified under the 2014 student grant scheme is as follows:

1. Student must qualify for the standard rate of grant;

2. Total reckonable income net of income disregards and Child Dependant Increase must not exceed €22,703;

3. As at 31st December, 2013, the reckonable income must include one of the eligible long-term social welfare payments prescribed in the Student Grant Scheme.

Illness Benefit is considered to be a short-term social welfare payment and, therefore, it is not included as an eligible payment for the purposes of the special rate of maintenance grant.

All grant applications received are reviewed for eligibility for the special rate of grant, and applicants who fulfil the relevant criteria are awarded same by SUSI.

I regret that the information requested is not collated in the format requested by the Deputy.