Student Support Act 2011

Interpretation.

2.— In this Act—

“Appeals Board” shall be construed in accordance with section 25 (2);

“appeals officer” means a person designated under section 20 (1);

“applicant” means a student who applies for a grant;

“appointed awarding authority” shall be construed in accordance with section 9 ;

“approved course” has the meaning given to it by section 8 ;

“approved institution” has the meaning given to it by section 7 ;

“awarding authority” means—

(a) a vocational education committee,

(b) a local authority, or

(c) an appointed awarding authority;

“civil partner” shall be construed in accordance with the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 ;

“cohabitant” shall be construed in accordance with section 172(1) of the Civil Partnership and Certain Rights and Obligations of Cohabitants Act 2010 ;

“course” means a course of study or training;

“dependent child” shall be construed in accordance with section 16 (7);

“dependent student” means an applicant or class of applicant specified as a dependent student in a scheme made by the Minister under section 16 ;

“educational disadvantage” means the impediments to education arising from social or economic disadvantage which prevent students from deriving appropriate benefit from education;

“EEA Agreement” means the Agreement on the European Economic Area signed at Oporto on 2 May 1992 as amended for the time being;

“enactment” has the meaning given to it by section 2 of the Interpretation Act 2005 ;

“grant” means money paid by an awarding authority to a student or to an approved institution on behalf of the student for the purpose of assisting the student to pursue an approved course at the approved institution;

“independent student” means an applicant or class of applicant specified as an independent student in a scheme made by the Minister under section 16 ;

“inquiry officer” means a person appointed pursuant to section 22 ;

“local authority” means a county council or city council within the meaning of the Local Government Act 2001 ;

“Minister” means the Minister for Education and Skills;

“parent” includes a guardian appointed under the Guardianship of Children Acts 1964 to 1997, and, in the case of a child who has been adopted under the Adoption Act 2010 or, where the child has been adopted outside of the State, means the adopter or adopters or the surviving adopter;

“prescribed” means prescribed by regulations made by the Minister under this Act;

“progression” means—

(a) the process by which learners may progress from year to year within a course following the successful completion of part of the course as required during the previous year, or

(b) the process by which learners may transfer from one course to another course where the award that may be made on the successful completion of the second mentioned course is of a higher level than the award that may be made on the successful completion of the first mentioned course;

“reckonable income” shall be construed in accordance with section 16 (4)(a)(iv);

“relevant Minister” shall be construed in accordance with section 9 (8);

“student” shall be construed in accordance with section 14 (1);

“transferring awarding authority” shall be construed in accordance with section 9 (1);

“tuition fees” means fees and charges that a student is required to pay in order to participate in and complete a course and includes examination fees, student service charges, registration fees and lecture fees;

“tuition student” has the meaning given to it by section 14 (7);

“vocational education committee” means a committee established under section 7 of the Vocational Education Act 1930 .