Joe Carey (Clare, Fine Gael)
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228. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to outline the reason the back-to-work family dividend cannot be regarded as a qualifying payment for the special rate of postgraduate grant as administered by SUSI; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3294/18]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware that the Back to Work Family Dividend (BTWFD) is a Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP) payment. The scheme aims to help families to move from social welfare into employment. It is available to jobseekers and lone parents who take up or increase the level of their employment and is payable for up to 2 years only. The payment is not recognised as a long term payment for the purposes of the Student Grant Scheme however, it is treated as an income disregard in the scheme and is therefore not included in the calculation of reckonable income.

The BTWFD can be paid with Family Income Supplement (FIS) which is an eligible payment for the special rate of grant.

The Deputy will be aware that additional funding of €4 million was secured in Budget 2017 to facilitate the reinstatement of full maintenance grants, from September 2017, for the most disadvantaged postgraduate students. A further €3m was secured in Budget 2018.

Postgraduate students who meet the qualifying conditions for the special rate of grant under the Student Grant Scheme are eligible for a maintenance grant of up to €5,915. The income threshold for this grant is €23,000. Qualifying postgraduate students may also be eligible to have their tuition fees paid up to a 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 2017/2018 academic year.

My Department also provides funding for the Student Assistance Fund (SAF). The fund is available in various publicly funded higher education institutions. The SAF provides financial assistance to students experiencing financial difficulties while attending third level. Students can be assisted towards their rent, childcare costs, transport costs and books/class materials. The SAF is open to full-time registered students on courses of not less than one year's duration leading to an undergraduate or postgraduate qualification.

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. Further information on this tax relief is available from the Revenue Commissioners at www.revenue.ie.