Am I Eligible?

Eligibility for the grant scheme is based on the following:

To be eligible for a grant you must fulfil the conditions as to residence, age, academic attainments, means and nationality.

Residence

Your parents or guardians, or you yourself if you are an independent mature candidate (see below) must have been ordinarily resident in the administrative area of the local authority from 1st October prior to applying for the grant.

Since the academic year 2010/2011, there is a requirement for grant applications that you must be resident in the State for 3 of the previous 5 years.

Nationality

In order to get a maintenance grant you must:

• Be a national of an EU member state or an EEA members state or Switzerland or
• Official Refugee Status; or
• been granted Humanitarian Leave to remain in the State; 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 permission to remain in the State, or be the child of such person, not having EU nationality; 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
• be nationals of a member country of the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland.

Approved Courses

An applicant shall make an application to the appropriate vocational education committee if they wish to attend, or will be attending, an approved course in one of the following institutions in the relevant academic year:

1. An approved institution providing post leaving certificate courses and listed in Part D of Schedule 1 to the Regulations;
2. An approved institution established under section 3 of the Regional Technologies Act 1992 as a regional technical college to which the Institutes of Technology Act 1992 to 2006 applies and which is listed in Part B of Schedule 1 to the Regulations; or
3. Dublin Institute of Technology.
   

You will not be eligible for the grant if you are starting a new courses in 2011/2012 and getting Back to Education Allowance.  However, you should still submit a grant application form to be assessed for exemption from the Student Services Contribution and any applicable fees.

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