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To be eligible for support from the Fund for Students with Disabilities in 2010-11, the student must meet the following conditions:

• Have a verifiable disability in one or more of the categories as outlined below;
• As a result of the disability have a need for specific supports and/or assistance arising from study or attendance on the chosen course;
• Be at least 17 years of age on 1 January 2011;
• have been ordinarily resident in the State for at least three out of the last five years immediately preceding the date on which a year of study on an approved course in an approved institution commences. If not so resident, the applicant shall have been temporarily resident outside of the State by reason of pursuing a course of study or postgraduate research at an approved institution outside of the State but within an EU Member State, and was resident in the State for at least three out of the five years immediately preceding the date on which they commenced such course of study or postgraduate research;

• Be a national of -
  (i) an EU Member State*,
  (ii) a state which is a contracting state to the EEA Agreement,
  (iii) the Swiss Confederation, or

• a refugee or other person entitled for the time being to the rights and priveleges specified in section 3 of the Refugee Act, 1996; or
• be a person, pursuant to the European Communities (Eligibility for Protection) Regulations 2006 (S.I. No 518 of 2006) -
  
  (i) who the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has determined is eligible for the time being for subsidiary protection pursuant to Regulation 4 of those Regulations, or
  (ii) to whom the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has granted permission for the time being in writing to enter and reside in the State pursuant to Regulation 16 of those Regulations; or
  
  
• have permission to remain in the State as a family member of a Union citizen under the provisions of the European Communities (Free Movement of Persons) Regulations 2006 and 2008 and Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council; or
• have been granted humanitarian Leave to Remain in the State (prior to the Immigration Act 1999); or
  
• be a person in respect of whom the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform has granted permission to remain following a determination not to make a deportation order under section 3 of the Immigration Act 1999; 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 a person, not myself having EU nationality.
  

*Irish nationals are included in this category

Eligible students need not be exclusively those in the first year of a course in 2010-11 (i.e. some students with a disability may not present with a request for supports for the first time until the second or subsequent year of their course). 

Categories of Disability

• Autistic Spectrum Disorder (including Asperger's Syndrome)
• Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)/Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
• Blind/Visual Impairment
• Deaf/Hard of Hearing
• Mental Health Condition
• Neurological Condition
• Neurologically-based Speech, Language or Communication condition
• Significant Ongoing Illness
• Physical Disability
• Developmental Coordination Disorder (Dyspraxia)
• Specific Learning Difficulties (Dyslexia or Dyscalculia)