There are a number of student grant schemes to help with costs such maintenance, registration and exam fees and student services

The tuition fees of eligible first time undergraduate students are automatically paid by the Department of Education and Science. There are a number of student grant schemes to help eligible students with costs such maintenance, registration and exam fees, and student services.

Grants are awarded depending on nationality, ordinary residence, family income, the number of dependent children in a family, and the distance of the family home from the college the student will be attending. The reckonable family income limits may be extended slightly if two or more children (or if the candidate’s parents) are attending an approved course of study.

A grant recipient may be entitled to full maintenance (100pc), or one of three rates of part maintenance (75pc, 50pc, or 25pc), depending on family income and the number of dependent children in the family.

The rates of maintenance applicable in 2008/2009 will apply up to the end of 2009, and increases will be considered in light of the budget.

There are two separate rates of maintenance, the "adjacent" rate and the "non-adjacent" rate. The adjacent rate applies to a grant holder whose normal residence is 15 miles or less from the college which he or she is attending.

The non-adjacent rate is usually payable in all other cases. The principle is that if you live near enough to college to live at home, you get less money for maintenance.

While the maintenance grants have not been extended this year (2009/10), the income limits have been extended this year at the top and the bottom ends of the scale; in other words, more families are likely to be eligible for the award of some portion of a grant.

Special additional rates of maintenance are available to students whose family income is not more than €22,308 and whose reckonable income includes one of the qualifying social welfare payments listed in the schemes.

Q: Are all students, whether EU or non-EU, entitled to maintenance grants and tuition fees?

A: The Higher Education Grants Scheme states: "Candidates who are EU, 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 EU member state, EEA state or Switzerland from October 1, 2008.

"Such candidates shall apply to the Vocational Education Committee in whose administrative area the college they propose to attend is situated."

Q: Who are the grant-aiding authorities?

A: There are three different grant schemes for higher education. These are Higher Education Grants (HEG); vocational education committee (VEC) scholarships; and the TLT (third level maintenance grants for trainees) grants scheme.

There is a certain overlap between the HEG and the VEC schemes.

The HEG scheme, which is administered by local authorities, covers approved courses in universities in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, as well as most courses in universities in Britain or other EU member states.

It also covers certain courses in institutes of technology and in certain other colleges both in the Republic and in NI. The VEC scheme covers courses in institutes of technology, certain courses in NCAD and courses in UL and DCU. The TLT scheme (or Third Level maintenance grants for Trainees) covers maintenance grants for most Level 7 and Level 6 courses in all institutes of technology.

A fourth scheme, the PLC ESF-aided maintenance grant scheme covers eligible students attending approved PLC/FE courses usually in the VEC sector.

VEC scholarship grants, TLT grants and PLC ESF-aided grants are administered by vocational education committees. All schemes use the same reckonable income limits, and pay the same amount of money.

Q: If a student has applied through CAO for Level 8 degree courses in university or an institute of technology, and for Level 7/Level 6 ordinary degree/ higher certificate courses in institutes of technology, does he or she have to apply to three different grants schemes?

A: No. It is not necessary to fill out an individual form for each scheme.

Applicants generally fill out one form for the scheme they think they are most likely to be dealing with.

The grant-aiding authorities cooperate together.

The extremely user-friendly website, www.studentfinance.ie, (an initiative of the HEA or Higher Education Authority), guides applicants through every stage of the process. The closing date for grant application this year is August 31, 2009.

Mary O’Donnell