Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent)
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948. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a family who are in receipt of family income supplement from the Department of Social Protection cannot qualify for a SUSI grant due to the family farm having had an annual turnover of about €70,000, not income, in 2014; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37603/15]

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

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 should qualify for a grant or how that applicant's income is assessed. This is a matter for SUSI to determine.

If an individual applicant considers that she/he has been unjustly refused a student grant or that the rate of grant awarded is not the correct one, she/he 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 the scheme has not been interpreted correctly in his/her case, an appeal form outlining the position may be submitted by the applicant to the independent Student Grants appeals Board.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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949. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills given the requirement for further education teachers to have teaching qualifications to teach in a further education college, if she will revise the Student Universal Support Ireland grant rules on progression to cater for students undertaking courses at level 8, for the purposes of becoming further education teachers, when they have a level 9 qualification. [37616/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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To satisfy the terms and conditions of the student grant scheme in relation to progression, a student must be moving from year to year within a course having successfully completed the previous year or be transferring from one course to another where the award for the subsequent course is of a higher level than the previous course.

The objective of this policy is to help as many students as possible to obtain one qualification at each level of study. Given the level of demand on the student grant budget from first time students and students that are progressing with their studies to a higher level, there are no plans at present to change the arrangements in place.

In the situation referred to by the Deputy, a student who already holds a level 9 qualification and intends to pursue a course at level 8, which is at a lower level, is not considered to be in progression and cannot be considered for funding.

However, tax relief at the standard rate of tax may be claimed in respect of tuition fees paid for approved courses at approved colleges of higher education including approved undergraduate and postgraduate courses in EU Member States and in non-EU countries.