Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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1299. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the total number of alternative education establishments/settings (excluding Youthreach services) which operate outside of the traditional mainstream education system within the State; the geographical location of each setting; the criteria laid down for the establishment of an alternative education setting; the total number of students who reengage with the traditional mainstream education system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43937/24]

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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I would like to thank the Deputy for this question.

As the Deputy is aware, education provided outside of the traditional mainstream education system by the Further Education and Training sector is offered through the Youthreach programme. The Youthreach Programme is provided in Youthreach Centres and Community Training Centres (CTCs). CTCs are typically non-profit making companies or charities with independent boards that are broadly representative of the local community.

CTCs provide training, education and employment services primarily to early school leavers between the ages of 16 and 21 but can also include learners up to the age of 25, where they are unemployed, with the agreement of the relevant Education and Training Board (ETB). Funded by SOLAS through the local ETBs, there are 31 CTCs. Almost 2,300 learners attended CTCs in 2023.

The Irish Association of Community Training Organisations, the representative body of the CTCs, has a list of CTCs, including their addresses, on their website. A list of these centres is attached for the Deputy's information.

The process to establish a CTC’s relationship with an ETB is set out under the 2013 operating guidelines , ‘Operating Standards for Community Training Centres’. To form an agreement to collaborate with an ETB, a CTC submits an annual business plan to the ETB based on the CTC’s Strategic Plan. This business plan details the expected client groups, the range of services and type of provision to be delivered, together with an estimate of the supports and resources required to carry out the work. Each new programme proposed requires a training programme specification to be submitted to the ETB, indicating the level of staffing, programme content, duration, delivery mechanism, and accreditation. The CTC and the ETB will then work together to refine the business plan and any proposals for new programmes. A contract is then signed by the ETB and the CTC, which includes terms and conditions, and key information from the CTC’s business plan.

My Department does not hold information and data on the proportion of learners in CTCs that go on to reengage with mainstream post-primary education.

">List of CTC Addresses

Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance)
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1300. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will review the guidelines around SUSI grants to automatically ensure that all mature students are assessed as independent even if they are living with a parent; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43924/24]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy may be aware, the objective of the statutory based student grant scheme is to provide additional assistance where household income is below a certain threshold.

For student grants purposes, students are categorised according to their circumstances either as students dependent on parents/legal guardian or as independent mature students.

A candidate's reckonable income for the purposes of the student grant means test is gross income from all sources, including the gross income of their parents/guardians (in the case of dependent students) or of their spouse/partner (in the case of independent students) where applicable, with certain specified Department of Social Protection Payments being exempt. Grant assistance may not be awarded in any case where the reckonable income exceeds the prescribed income limits for the award of a grant.

A student may be assessed as an independent mature student if he or she has attained the age of 23 on the 1st of January of the year of first entry to an approved course or of re-entry following a break in studies of at least three years and is not ordinarily resident with their parents from the previous 1st October. Otherwise, they would continue to be assessed on the basis of parental income.

The Deputy will appreciate that the funding allocation for the Student Grant Scheme is determined in the context of the overall estimates and budgetary process undertaken by all Government Departments. All proposals made in relation to SUSI grant expenditure can only be considered in the context of the budgetary allocation, having regard to overall resource constraints and other competing demands in the further and higher education sector.