98 Deputy John Cregan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Education and Skills if a person (details supplied) in County Limerick can qualify for payment of an honours degree allowance due to the fact that they received their qualification from the association of chartered certified accountants and the ACCA has been recognised as an official awarding body by the Irish educational regulatory authorities, the Higher Education and Training Awards Council. [43746/10]

In my response to Parliamentary Question No. 40116/10 I set out the criteria for payment of the honours degree allowance. As I informed the Deputy in that answer, my Department also accepts full membership of certain professional bodies for the purpose of granting certain qualification allowances.

The person referred to by the Deputy does not hold a primary honours degree or full membership of a professional accounting body. Therefore she is not entitled to payment of an honours degree allowance.