S.I. No. 683/2023 - Student Grant (Amendment)(No.4) Scheme 2023

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 22nd December, 2023.

I, SIMON HARRIS, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 16 of the Student Support Act 2011 (No. 4 of 2011) (as adapted by the Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2020 ( S.I. No. 451 of 2020 ), and the Public Expenditure and Reform (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2023 ( S.I. No. 19 of 2023 )), with the consent of the Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform, hereby make the following scheme of grants:-

1. This Scheme may be cited as the Student Grant (Amendment)(No.4) Scheme 2023.

2. This Scheme shall come into operation on 1 January 2024.

3. In this Scheme “Principal Scheme” means the Student Grant Scheme 2023 ( S.I. No. 94 of 2023 ).

4. Article 14 of the Principal Scheme is amended-

(a) in subparagraph 3(b) by substituting “€25,000” for “€19,000”, and

(b) by deleting paragraph (7), and

(c) by substituting for paragraph (9) the following:-

“(9) notwithstanding paragraph (8) a student is eligible for a fee grant if he or she is pursuing a postgraduate course and the applicant’s reckonable income meets the qualifying conditions for the special rate as specified in Schedule 1 and Schedule 2. Notwithstanding paragraph (8) a tuition student is eligible for a fee grant if he or she is pursuing a postgraduate course and the applicant’s reckonable income meets the qualifying conditions for the special rate as specified in Schedule 1 and Schedule 2.”

5. Article 27 of the Principal Scheme is amended by substituting for paragraph (2) the following:

“(2) The value of the special and standard rates of maintenance grant in respect of an approved course shall be in accordance with the annual rates specified by the Minister. The rates specified for the financial year are set out in Schedules 3 and 3A.”

6. Article 27 of the Principal Scheme is amended by inserting after paragraph (5) the following:

“(6) The total value of the Maintenance Grant that would otherwise be payable to an applicant under this Article and Schedule 3 in respect of the period January to May 2024 shall be increased by the total amount specified in Schedule 3A. Payment of this additional amount shall be made on a pro rata basis in respect of an applicant’s attendance on an approved course in an approved institution during this period.”

7. Article 32(1) of the Principal Scheme is amended by substituting for subparagraph (f) the following:

“(f) change of course or institution;

(g) an amendment to the Scheme or the Regulations during the academic year; a student will only become eligible in these circumstances in respect of any relevant period after such an amendment has come into operation. Where a permanent change by reason of an amendment to the Scheme or the Regulations during the academic year arises, awards or adjustments in cases assessed under this article shall be made with effect from the month in which the change in circumstances occurs. ”

8. The Principal Scheme is amended by the insertion of the following Schedule after Schedule 3:

“Schedule 3A

Additional amount of maintenance grant in respect of the period January – May 2023

9. Article 37 of the Principal Scheme is amended by substituting for paragraph (2) the following:

“(2) The awarding authority, or other relevant paying authority referred to in paragraph (1), shall pay maintenance grants in nine instalments, in line with the annual rates specified in Schedule 3 and the additional amounts specified in Schedule 3A.”

The Minister for Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform consents to the making of the foregoing Scheme.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

20 December, 2023.

PASCHAL DONOHOE,

Minister for Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform.

GIVEN under my Official Seal,

20 December, 2023.

SIMON HARRIS,

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

(This note is not part of the Instrument and does not purport to be a legal interpretation.)

The purpose of this Scheme is to amend the Student Grant Scheme 2023 to provide for changes to the rate of the Student Maintenance Grant, the extension of eligibility for a Maintenance Grant to Postgraduate students and to increase the specified sum allowable for eligibility to apply for a grant when in receipt of a postgraduate research award where the stipend portion does not exceed a certain amount by €6,000, all from January 2024.