Student Support Act 2011

2

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—

F1[(a) an education and training board,]

(b) a local authority, or

(c) an appointed awarding authority;

F2[bursary 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, where the money is provided from a fund established pursuant to a bursary scheme;

bursary scheme means a scheme established, by way of a trust or other instrument, for the purposes of providing financial support to students falling into all or any of the following groups to assist them to participate in further education or higher education:

(a) students who are economically or socially disadvantaged;

(b) students who have a disability;

(c) students who are from sections of society significantly under-represented in the student body;]

“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;

F3["local authority" means a local authority for the purposes of the Local Government Act 2001 (as amended by the Local Government Reform Act 2014);]

“Minister” means the Minister for Education and Skills;

“parent” includes a F4[guardian appointed under the Guardianship of Infants Act 1964, other than a temporary guardian appointed under section 6E of that Act], 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);

F5["relevant specified jurisdiction" means

(a) a country that, as respects a class of person standing prescribed under section 14A(1) for the purposes of section 14(1)(aa), is specified in the regulations concerned under section 14A(1) prescribing that class, or

(b) where a class of person stands prescribed under section 14A(3) for the purposes of section 14(1)(aa), Northern Ireland;]

F2[scholarship 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, where the money is provided from a fund established pursuant to a scholarship scheme;

scholarship scheme means a scheme established, by way of a trust or other instrument, for the purposes of providing financial support to students who demonstrate the level of educational attainment (if any) required by the scheme and who fall into all or any of the following groups to assist them to participate in further education or higher education:

(a) students who are economically or socially disadvantaged;

(b) students who have a disability;

(c) students who are from sections of society significantly under-represented in the student body;]

“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);

F6[]

Annotations

Amendments:

F1

Substituted (1.07.2013) by Education and Training Boards Act 2013 (11/2013), s. 72(1) and sch. 6 item 58, S.I. No. 211 of 2013.

F2

Inserted (10.11.2022) by Higher Education Authority Act 2022 (31/2022), s. 133, S.I. No. 554 of 2022.

F3

Substituted (1.06.2014) by Local Government Reform Act 2014 (1/2014), s. 5(8) and sch. 2, part 6, S.I. No. 214 of 2014.

F4

Substituted (18.01.2016) by Children and Family Relationships Act 2015 (9/2015), s. 180, S.I. No. 12 of 2016.

F5

Inserted (31.12.2020 at 11:00 p.m.) by Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Act 2020 (23/2020), s. 17, S.I. No. 657 of 2020.

F6

Deleted (1.07.2013) by Education and Training Boards Act 2013 (11/2013), s. 72(1) and sch. 6 item 58, S.I. No. 211 of 2013.

Modifications (not altering text):

C3

Functions transferred and references construed (21.10.2020) by Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2020 (S.I. No. 451 of 2020), arts. 2, 3(1)(a), (2) and sch., in effect as per art. 1(2), subject to transitional provisions in arts. 4-8.

2. (1) The administration and business in connection with the exercise, performance or execution of any functions transferred by this Order are transferred to the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.

(2) References to the Department of Education and Skills contained in any Act or any instrument made under such Act and relating to any administration and business transferred by paragraph (1) shall, from the commencement of this Order, be construed as references to the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.

3. (1) The functions vested in the Minister for Education and Skills -

(a) by or under the Acts specified in Part 1 of the Schedule, and

...

are transferred to the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.

(2) References to the Minister for Education and Skills contained in any Act or instrument made under such Act and relating to any functions transferred by paragraph (1) shall, from the commencement of this Order, be construed as references to the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.

SCHEDULE

Article 3

Part 1

...

Student Support Act 2011 (No. 4 of 2011)

...

C4

Reference to ‘county council or city council’ construed (1.06.2014) by Local Government Reform Act 2014 (1/2014), s. 9(2)(a), S.I. No. 214 of 2014.

Cesser and amalgamation of certain local government areas

9. — ...

(2) Except where otherwise provided for by this Act, a reference, however expressed, in any enactment—

(a) to a county council or a city council (including a reference construed by section 3(2) of, and Schedule 2 to, the Principal Act as a reference to a county council or to a city council, as the case may be) shall, if the context permits, be read as a reference to a county council, a city council or a city and county council, and

...

Editorial Notes:

E6

Previous affecting provision: definition of 'relevant specified jurisdiction' inserted by Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Act 2019 (8/2019), s. 14, not commenced; repealed (17.12.2020) by Withdrawal of the United Kingdom from the European Union (Consequential Provisions) Act 2020 (23/2020), s. 4(a), S.I. No. 634 of 2020.