Student Supports

Table of Contents

Modern Legislation

The Student Support Act 2011 replaced the grant system under the Local Authorities (Higher Education Grants) Act 1968.It provided for a unified scheme replacing four existing schemes. All schemes are now on a statutory footing.

The Minister is to advance funds to the awarding authority with the consent of the Minister for Finance. Regulations may be made by the Department to give effect to the provisions of the Act.

Approved Bodies

A number of specified education institutions in the State are deemed approved. This includes

educational institutions under the Universities Act,
educational institutions under the Regional Technologies Acts,
the Dublin Institution of Technology,
educational institutions that receive grants out of public money,
educational institutions that provide higher education and training situated in other EU member states which is financed essentially out of public funds,
other prescribed institutions.

Other institutions may be prescribed by the Minister having regard to the matters specified below having consulted with the HEA and the Minister for Finance. Matters relevant include

whether the institution receives grants out of public monies,
the policies in relation to institutions accessed by economically and socially disadvantaged persons, persons with disabilities or persons from sectors significantly underrepresented
courses and facilities provided
whether grants have previously been paid in respect thereof under local authority schemes,
whether the principal purpose of the institution is for higher education, training and research and is managed on a basis other than for financial gain.
the requirement for the development of skills and knowledge in sectors of the economy or employment identified as requiring such skills,
resources available,
other relevant matters.

Approved Courses

Approved courses are courses taking place in an approved institution that requires full-time attendance and is prescribed by the Minister. In prescribing courses, the Minister is to have regard to

the nature and level of qualifications be awarded,
the educational institution that provides the course,
whether it leads to a higher education and training award
any other proper matters to be taken into account having regard to the objective of enabling persons to attend courses of higher or further education,
the need to maintain educational standards and
the contribution that provision of the course would make to higher education in the State.

The grants may be paid as well as maintenance grants in respect of approved post-graduate courses. Where the Minister has prescribed post-graduate courses in Northern Ireland to be approved the courses are subject to review annually to ensure they continue to meet the relevant purpose.

The relevant purposes are

the promotion of greater tolerance and understanding between the people of the state and Northern Ireland,
promoting the exchange of ideas,
promoting greater understanding in respect of a diversity of the cultures in the island of Ireland,
promoting greater integration and cooperation between the State and Northern Ireland.

Awarding Authority

Awarding authorities must implement Ministerial policy and directions. The Minister may appoint persons to carry out reviews, audits and inspections in relation to the performance by awarding authorities of their functions.

The Minister may transfer functions of an awarding authority where the Minister is satisfied that the awarding authority is not performing its functions effectively. The Minister may appoint a person to investigate and report on the performance of an awarding authority or to the act.

Entitlement to Grant

The legislation defines nationality and residence requirements. The students must meet certain requirements to qualify for a grant. The residence requirement for a maintenance grant is that they have resided in the State for three of the last five years.

Certain other categories of persons are entitled to benefit from student grants subject to other terms and conditions. The Minister is given the power to prescribe categories of non-nationals that are eligible for student support. There is provision for grants for persons who reside in the EU or the EEA.

The provision is made for the establishment of the scheme of grant or grants. The schemes are to be established by regulations by the Minister for Education and Science with the consent of the Department of Finance. Regulations for the scheme govern the class of grants and categories of applicants. It may include categories of students and criteria including the assessment of means and other criteria to determine eligibility for the grants.

Grant Criteria

The factors to which the Minister is to have regard in specifying classes of applications, applicants or criteria to be considered in determining whether the students is of a particular class are set out. Persons whose means are to be taken into account under the regulations is provided for. The Minister, with the consent of the Minister for Finance, may make a scheme or schemes of grants.

A scheme may:

specify grants or classes of grants that may be awarded under it;
specify a class or classes of applicants who may include dependent students, independent students, mature students, and tuition students;
specify an awarding authority or classes of awarding authorities who shall perform functions conferred by or under this Act in relation to specified grants or classes of grants;
specify criteria to be considered by an awarding authority in determining whether an applicant is a student of a particular class;
specify criteria to be considered by an awarding authority in determining whether an applicant is eligible for a grant including the following: conditions to be complied with by an applicant, his or her parents, spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, as the case may be, in order that the applicant may be so eligible; the manner in which the income of an applicant, his or her parents, spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, as the case may be, shall be determined;
specify the amount of moneys to be provided to or on behalf of an applicant in respect of a grant for which he or she is eligible;
specify conditions the continued compliance with which is required in order that an applicant shall remain eligible to receive a grant awarded to him or her;
specify the period of time during which an applicant may receive a grant for which he or she is eligible;
specify the period of time during which money shall be made available to fund a class of grants;
provide for the manner in which an application for a grant is to be made and the information to be furnished by an applicant in relation thereto.

Eligibility Factors

In specifying a class or classes of applicants, or criteria to be considered in determining whether an applicant is a student of a particular class, the Minister shall have regard to the following matters or any of them, namely:

the age of the applicant;
his or her family or personal circumstances;
whether he or she has family members who might reasonably be expected to support the applicant;
whether he or she has been or is self-supporting;
whether or to what extent he or she has previously been in full-time education or employment;
previous educational attainment of the applicant;
any other matters which in the opinion of the Minister are proper matters to be taken into account having regard to the resources available and the objective of enabling persons to attend courses of higher or further education.

Income / Resources

Criteria that may be specified by the Minister in a scheme as criteria to be considered by an awarding authority in order that it may determine whether an applicant is eligible for a grant may include, but shall not be limited to as respects income:

income limits which, if an applicant is in receipt of income that exceeds the limit specified, then, he or she is not eligible for a grant;
requiring, where the applicant is a dependent student, that the income of the applicant and his or her parents, as appropriate, shall be taken into account in calculating whether the limit specified is exceeded;
requiring, where the applicant is an independent student, that the income of the applicant and his or her spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, as appropriate, shall be taken into account in calculating whether the limit specified is exceeded;
the proportion or type of income of an applicant, his or her parents, spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, as appropriate, to be considered by the awarding authority in calculating whether the limit specified is exceeded (and that proportion or type of income shall be called, in a scheme, “reckonable income”);
requiring, when specifying income limits, that reckonable income may be taken to include means or a proportion of means of an applicant, his or her parents or spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, as appropriate;
where the parents of a dependent student or other dependent children reside in separate households, the manner in which and purposes for which account shall be taken of arrangements in place relating to the dependent student or other dependent children;
requiring, as a condition of receiving a grant that an applicant is in receipt of a benefit or services provided by a Minister of the Government, a local authority, the Health Service Executive or the holder of any office or a body established

Other Criteria

whether the applicant is a student in progression;
whether the applicant is already in receipt of or likely to receive funding, an award or stipend, for the purposes of assisting him or her in pursuing his or her education;
whether the applicant is already in receipt of or likely to receive funding from a state other than the State under the law of that state which provides for payments to students that correspond to grants;
previous academic attainment of the applicant;
previous attendance by the applicant on higher or further education courses including, (but not limited to) approved courses;
whether the applicant is an economically or socially disadvantaged person, a person who has a disability or a person from a section of society that is significantly underrepresented in the student body;
whether the applicant wishes to attend a course that has been identified as necessary for the development of skills and knowledge in sectors of the economy or employment identified as requiring such development by such person who has an interest or expertise in educational matters or the development of skills and knowledge as the Minister considers appropriate to consult in that behalf;
any other criteria recommended to be specified by the Minister pursuant to advice received by the Minister from such person who has an interest or expertise in educational matters as the Minister considers appropriate to consult for that advice; and
any other criteria which in the opinion of the Minister are proper matters to be taken into account having regard to the resources available and the objective of enabling persons to attend courses of higher or further education.

Additional Crtiera

The Minister may specify additional criteria which may include all or any of the following:

the employment status of the applicant, including the level of his or her remuneration or that he or she has involuntarily been made redundant, is involuntarily unemployed, or has involuntarily had his or her working hours reduced;
the inability of the applicant to attend higher education on a full-time basis by virtue of being wholly or mainly responsible for the care of a person requiring full-time care and attention;
that the applicant suffers from a disability (within the meaning of the Disability Act 2005 ) and by reason of the disability is unable to attend higher education on a full-time basis;
that the applicant has suffered educational disadvantage;
the previous academic attainment of the applicant including the previous pursuit of third level education;
any other matters which in the opinion of the Minister are proper matters to be taken into account having regard to the resources available and the objective of enabling persons to attend courses of higher education.

Applications Requirements

The Minister shall provide by regulations for such matters of procedure and administration as appear to the Minister to be necessary or expedient in respect of applications by students for grants. The regulations may provide for one or more than one of the following matters:

the awarding authority to whom an applicant shall make an application;
the date by which an application shall be made;
the information to be made available by an awarding authority to an applicant in relation to an application for a grant, schemes of grants, the circumstances in which, in whole or in part, of a grant may cease,
penalties for offences and liability to repay a grant;
the submission of information required to an awarding authority by an applicant in respect of an application for a grant;
the submission, by an applicant, of further information that may be required by an awarding authority;
the production of evidence to verify particulars of information given to an awarding authority by an applicant;
the periods of time within which the information, further information or evidence shall be submitted or produced to the awarding authority;
the manner of notification of its decision by an awarding authority;
any other matter that appears to the Minister to be necessary or expedient.

Application and Award

An applicant shall apply to an awarding authority for a grant. An applicant may not apply for or receive more than one grant at any one time.

An applicant shall furnish an awarding authority with the personal, family, financial and other information that the authority may seek in relation to the applicant, the applicant’s spouse, civil partner or cohabitant, each parent of the applicant, and any dependent child and shall produce evidence, in such form as may be prescribed, to verify the information, in order that the authority may determine whether or not the applicant is eligible to receive a grant.

An awarding authority shall determine whether an applicant is eligible to receive a grant, having regard to—

information furnished by the applicant pursuant to this section,
any other information in relation to the application, as appropriate, and
such criteria as are specified in the relevant scheme of grants.

Decision

An awarding authority shall make a grant to an applicant in respect of whom it has determined that he or she is eligible for the grant of such money and in respect of such a period of time as may be specified in the relevant scheme.

Where the awarding authority determines—

that the applicant is eligible for the grant for which he or she has applied, it shall give notice in writing informing the applicant of the determination and arrange to pay the grant, or
that the applicant is not eligible for the grant for which he or she has applied, it shall give notice in writing to the applicant of the determination and the reasons therefor and of the applicant’s right to appeal the determination to an appeals officer.

The Minister may make regulations for procedure and administration in respect of grant application. The awarding authority may require applicants to produce evidence and information in the form acceptable in order to determine eligibility. The authority must notify the applicant and advise on their right of appeal.

The applicants must notify an awarding authority of a change of circumstances. The awarding authority has the power to seek information as it considers appropriate to determine whether the student retains eligibility. Grants may be withheld or stopped in light of changed circumstances where eligibility has changed.

Appeal

There is a provision for an internal appeal within the authority where the student is not satisfied with the decision. An appeals officer is obliged to notify the applicant of the decision and right of further appeal. The applicant has 30 days in which to lodge an appeal. This may be extended by further 30 days if the officer is satisfied that the person has given reasonable cause for the extension.

There is an appeal from the decisions of the appeals officer to an independent appeals board. This must be made within 30 days, but with for extension for a further 30 days on the basis of reasonable cause, it is shown. The appeals body may confirm, vary, or set aside the original decision

The independent appeals board is established. It is to submit an annual report on its activities to the Minister. There is provision for the exchange of information between various bodies for the purposes of the legislation. The Minister may prescribe additional bodies for such purposes.

Compliance

An enquiry officer may be appointed to make enquiries under the act. He may be appointed to carry out investigations as to whether an offence has been committed or whether there is a change of circumstances of a particular student so that he is no longer eligible.

There are provisions for offences where persons fail to comply with requirements made by an enquiry officer. There are offences of knowingly providing false or incomplete application to an awards authority, appeals authority, or board. It is an offence to aid and abet the commission of an offence.

Persons found guilty of offences are liable on summary conviction to a fine up to €5,000 or imprisonment to 12 months. They may be convicted on indictment and be subject to a fine of up to €50,000 or five years imprisonment or both. Persons found guilty of an offence are ineligible for a grant for up to 10 years.

Where a person has received money from an awarding authority which he or she is not entitled to receive, he is liable to repay the authority the amount received. He is deemed to have received that monies, where it is paid directly by the awarding authority to an approved institution on his behalf.

Access Plan

An approved institution shall, as soon as practicable require its chief officer to prepare a draft access plan of the policies of the institution in respect of

access to the institution by economically or socially disadvantaged people, by people who have a disability and by people from sections of society significantly under-represented in the student body, and
equality, including gender equality, in all activities of the institution,
and the chief officer, in preparing the statement, shall have regard to such policies on those matters as may from time to time be determined by the Minister.

The governing authority of an approved institution shall, having regard to the resources available to it, within one month of the preparation of the draft access plan either approve of it without modification or, following consultation with the chief officer, approve of it with such modifications as it thinks fit. An approved institution to which this section applies shall implement the policies set out in its access plan as approved.

PLC Courses

The 2015 Act amends the Student Support Act 2011 to remove a reference to post-leaving certificate (PLC) courses as ‘‘pursuant to a scheme administered by the Minister’’ as the administration of the PLC scheme has been transferred to An tSeirbhís Oideachais Leanúnaigh agus Scileanna (SOLAS) on the basis of its general functions relating to further education and training under the Further Education and Training Act 2013. The amendment ensures a basis for the Minister to prescribe PLC courses for the purposes of the student grant scheme.