• Home
• Arts
• Civil Defence
• Communications and Media
• Community and Enterprise
• County Library
• Cranmore Regeneration
• Customer Complaints
• Emergency
• Enforcement of Planning
• Environment
• Fire Service
• Freedom of Information
• Geographical Information
• Heritage
• Higher Education
  • Clauses
    • Award of Grants
    • Who can apply
    • Eligibility
    • Value of Grants
    • Acceptance of Grants
    • Tenure of Grants
    • Circumstance change
    • Postgraduate courses
    • Payment of Grant
    • Applications
    • Disclosure
    • Declarations
    • Disputes
  • Appendix i(A)
  • Appendix i(B)
  • Appendix ii
  • Appendix ii(B)
  • Appendix iii
  • Appendix iv
  • Appendix v
  • Downloads
  • Relevant Websites
  • Contact Us
• Housing
• Motor Taxation
• Planning
• Register of Electors
• Roads
• Sligo Harbour
• Sligo Main Drainage
• Water Services

CLAUSE 4: Eligibility of Candidates

To be eligible for a grant under this Scheme, a candidate shall fulfil the following conditions as to residence, age, academic attainments, means and nationality.

4.1   Residence

4.1.1  The candidate's parents or guardians, or, in the case of an independent mature candidate, the candidate herself/himself, shall have been ordinarily resident in the administrative area of the Local Authority from 1 October 2008.  The Local Authority shall have discretion to waive this requirement in exceptional circumstances. 

4.1.2   Candidates who are E.U., EEA or Swiss nationals and who do not satisfy the residency requirement are eligible to apply for a means-tested fees only grant in respect of approved courses in the State, provided they have been ordinarily resident, for a purpose other than wholly or mainly to receive full-time education, in an E.U. Member State, EEA State or Switzerland from 1 October, 2008.  Such candidates shall apply to the Local Authority in which the college they propose to attend is situated.

4.1.3  A candidate shall not be eligible to apply for, or be in receipt of, a scholarship/grant in the administrative area of more than one Vocational Education Committee/Local Authority area.

 
4.2   Age
A candidate shall be at least l7 years of age on 1 January 2010.

4.3   Academic Attainments

4.3.1   Any candidate who, having sat the Leaving Certificate examination, secures a place on an approved course shall be deemed to have fulfilled the Leaving Certificate examination attainment condition for the purposes of this Scheme.

4.3.2   Candidates who, having sat such school terminal examinations held and ordinarily sat in another E.U. Member State, secure a place on an approved course shall be deemed to have fulfilled the school terminal examination attainment condition for the purposes of this Scheme.

4.3.3   A mature candidate, who secures a place on an approved course, shall be deemed to fulfil the school terminal examination attainment condition for the purposes of this Scheme.

4.4   Means

4.4.1   For the award of a grant in respect of the 2009/10 academic year, a candidate's reckonable income shall conform to the income limits set out in Appendix II(A). The reckonable income shall be determined by the Local Authority on the basis of information supplied in the Application Form, in accordance with the requirement of the accompanying Notes booklet.  The 2009/10 Application Form and Notes form part of this Scheme.

4.4.2   For the award of a special rate of maintenance grant in respect of the 2009/10 academic year, a candidate’s reckonable income shall conform to the income limits set out in Appendix III.  The reckonable income shall be determined by the Local Authority on the basis of information supplied in the Application Form.

4.4.3   In the case of a candidate other than an independent mature candidate, the candidate's reckonable income shall be that of the candidate and of the candidate's parents or guardians, except where the candidate's parents are divorced, legally separated or it is established to the satisfaction of the Local Authority that they are separated, in which case, the candidate's reckonable income shall be that of the candidate and of the parent with whom the candidate resides. [Note: See Section 7 of the accompanying Notes for criteria applied by the Local Authority in establishing separation.]

4.4.4   In the case of an independent mature candidate, the candidate’s reckonable income shall be that of the candidate and her/his spouse, if applicable.

4.4.5   A candidate's reckonable income shall be the income for the period 1 January, 2008 to 31 December, 2008 (the tax year, 2008).

4.4.6   For the award of a special rate of maintenance grant a candidate’s reckonable income must, as at 31 December 2008, include one of the payments listed in Appendix III.

4.5   Nationality

4.5.1   Candidates must be a national of – 

1. an EU Member State,
2. a state which is a contracting state to the EEA Agreement
3. the Swiss Confederation or

• a refugee or other person entitled for the time being to the rights and privileges specified in section 3 of the Refugee Act 1996; or
• be a person, pursuant to the European Communities (Eligibility for Protection) Regulations 2006 (S.I. No. 518 of 2006) –
  1. who the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has determined is eligible for the time being for subsidiary protection pursuant to Regulation 4 of those Regulations, or
  2. to whom the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has granted permission for the time being in writing to enter and reside in the State pursuant to Regulation 16 of those Regulations; or
• have permission to remain in the State by virtue of marriage to a national of another EU Member State who is residing in the State and who is or has been employed, or self-employed, in the State, or be the child of such a person, not having EU nationality; or
• have permission to remain in the State by virtue of marriage to an Irish national residing in the State, or be the child of such person, not having EU nationality; or
• have been granted Humanitarian Leave to Remain in the State (prior to the Immigration Act 1999); or
• be a person in respect of whom the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has granted permission to remain following a determination not to make a deportation order under section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999.