[Article] New streamlined grants scheme to be introduced

Dept. Education 05/02/2008

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Minister Hanafin publishes Student Support Bill, 2008 - New streamlined grants scheme to be introduced

The Minister for Education and Science, Mary Hanafin T.D., today published a Student Support Bill which will provide a single statutory basis for all student grants to replace four different schemes currently operated by local authorities and VECs.

The Bill will also provide the basis for more streamlined administrative procedures for the management of the student grant awarding process, reflecting the commitment in the last Programme for Government that the payment of maintenance grants would be provided for through a unified grant payment scheme.

Publishing the Student Support Bill 2008, Minister Hanafin said "the development of a unified system of student support, consolidating the existing four schemes for students attending higher education and post leaving certificate courses, will greatly assist those embarking on higher and further education who need financial support and the publication of this Bill marks an important milestone in the process."

Streamlined Administration

The Bill, will provide the general basis on which students will in future be eligible for a grant, and determines that the VECs would be given sole responsibility for the administration of student maintenance grants, halving the number of grant awarding authorities from 66 to 33. Minister Hanafin said "this will significantly simplify the range of different grants and awarding authorities which students must currently negotiate in order to apply for a grant."


These changes pave the way for a more coherent administration system which will facilitate consistency of application, improved client accessibility and ensure the timely delivery of grants to those who need them most. It will increase clarity and accessibility for students and institutions and support the Minister?s overall plan to introduce service improvements in the administration of the student grant schemes. These will include guaranteed timeframes for more timely payment of grants and more efficient arrangements for handling applications and making payments.

Minister Hanafin went on to say "the VEC sector brings with it a distinct and rich educational tradition and valuable experience in administering three of the existing grant schemes. I am confident that this Bill will provide a sound basis on which they can ensure the efficient delivery of a fair and equitable grants system. The local authority sector, which has played a critical role over the years in giving thousands of young people the opportunity to pursue a higher education through the Higher Education Grants Scheme, will continue to play an essential part over a transitional period for those students in receipt of higher education grants."

Independent Appeals Board

Other significant developments provided for in the Bill include the introduction of a new independent Appeals Board, which will promote greater transparency in the grant-awarding process. The Bill also provides for the strengthening of the process whereby fraudulent claims can be rigorously pursued by an awarding authority and substantial offences and penalties are set down providing a firm basis to pursue those who have provided false or incomplete information in order to obtain a grant.

Promoting Equity of Access

The Bill underpins and supports Government policy to improve equity of access to further and higher education for underrepresented groups by requiring the institutions involved to draw up and implement access plans and equality policies.

General residence requirement

The Bill sets out the general residence requirement for maintenance grants, three out of the last five years in the State, which must in all cases be met by the student. This residence requirement, while more demanding, is now sufficiently flexible to facilitate students who may opt, for example, to work or travel outside the State for a period of up to two years and who can still meet the residence requirement on their return. The Bill also provides for temporary absences for the purposes of study or postgraduate research in the EU in certain circumstances.


Arrangements for 2008/09

Changes in the administrative arrangements and the eligibility requirements will apply to new entrants to the grant scheme following the commencement of the Act. It is currently envisaged that commencement will allow for the new scheme to come into operation for the 2009/10 academic year. In order to ensure a smooth transition to the new arrangements, all applications will continue to be made under the existing schemes to local authorities and VECs for the coming academic year, 2008/09. This will facilitate the development of the necessary infrastructure in the VEC sector to implement a fully integrated scheme under the Act in the following year without disruption to students.

Minister Hanafin concluded by saying "my core objective in implementing change is to enable improvements in the service provided to the 57,000 students in receipt of grants and to those potential students, currently at second level, who are considering their future options. While 2008/09 will be a transition period in which the existing arrangements will continue to apply, I hope to be in a position very shortly to announce more immediate service level improvements by publishing the student grant schemes for the coming academic year, some months ahead of their publication in previous years."