Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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248. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the restoration of postgraduate grants and their necessity to open up access to postgraduate studies, ensure that a steady stream of persons achieve a postgraduate qualification for societal good and to ensure attractiveness to foreign investors. [34785/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware of the Programme for Government commitment to increase financial supports for post graduate students with a particular focus on those from low income households.

In response to this commitment, I secured additional funding of €4million in Budget 2017 to facilitate the reinstatement of full maintenance grants, from September 2017, for the most disadvantaged post graduate students.

This will benefit approximately 1,100 of the most disadvantaged post graduate students who meet the eligibility criteria for the special rate of maintenance grant, from September 2017, and it reverses the budgetary cut that was imposed on this cohort of students in 2012.  

In addition to this specific measure targeted at postgraduate students, I also secured an additional €4.5million for other new access measures that will benefit target groups such as lone parents, travellers, mature students, and students with disabilities.

The new measures being introduced as a result of Budget 2017 will complement the existing student supports that are already in place for the 2016/17 academic year. This involves expenditure by my Department of more than €408 million on supports for approximately 80,000 disadvantaged students.