Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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362. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost for fully reintroducing the postgraduate grants; and the cost of reintroducing postgraduate grants for those eligible for grant rates part maintenance 75% and part maintenance 50%. [34883/17]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, 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, Minister Bruton 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.  

However, if the maintenance grants and eligibility for full fees were reintroduced for post-graduate students, the total estimated cost would be approximately €42.6m.

The estimated cost of introducing the 75% and the 50% rate of the maintenance grant and eligibility for full fees for post-graduate students would be €38m and €35m respectively.

These costing's excludes the above 2017 budget measure.

These costing's also assumes that the actual number of post graduate grant holders (2,324 in 2015/16) will increase to the level prior to the introduction of 2012 Budget measure (6,027 students).

Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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363. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of postgraduates that have been provided financial assistance under the student grant scheme in each of the years since 2009 to 2016 and to date in 2017. [34884/17]

Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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Financial supports are currently available for those postgraduate students who meet the eligibility criteria of the Student Grant Scheme.

Post-graduate students who meet the qualifying conditions for the special rate of grant under the Student Grant Scheme are eligible to have their post graduate tuition fees paid up to the maximum fee limit of €6,270.

Alternatively, a postgraduate student may qualify to have a €2,000 contribution made towards the cost of his/her fees. The income threshold for this payment is €31,500 for the 2016/17 academic year, increasing relative to the number of family dependents.

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, Minister Bruton 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.  

The number of postgraduate students in receipt of a grant under the Student Grant Scheme from the 2009/10 academic year to date in 2017 is outlined in the following table.

POST-GRADUATE GRANT-HOLDERS FOR THE ACADEMIC YEARS 2009/10 – 2015/16 AND PROVISIONAL POST-GRADUATE GRANT-HOLDERS 2016/17