224 Mr. Hughes asked the Minister for Social Welfare the reason a person (details supplied) in County Mayo has been refused inclusion in the third level allowance scheme; if his decision can be reversed in view of the severe financial hardship that it is causing to the particular student who is unable to obtain family assistance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3607/97]

The conditions for receipt of the third level allowance require a person to be aged 21 years or over and in receipt of an unemployment payment for at least six months prior to commencement of the third level course.

The person in question made his application for the third level allowance on the 26 October 1996 having been in receipt of unemployment assistance from October 1995. However he had already completed the first year of the course in 1994-95, and therefore, his application for the third level allowance had to be refused. There is no basis, as the scheme stands, on which the decision in this case can be reversed.