Eligibility
Am I eligible to apply?
There are residency , school and religion eligibility criteria.
To receive an SEC grant, at the time you register for a grant, the child for whom you are applying must be:
- A member of a reformed/Protestant denomination on the SEC’s List of Approved Denominations
- Have accepted a place in an SEC School
- Be resident in Ireland, and
- If applying for a boarding grant, live greater that 20km from the boarding school
Additionally, the parents/legal guardians of the child must have been taxpayers or in receipt of social welfare payments (other than child benefit) during the assessable year.
Means Test
The SEC is grant is designed to support necessitous members of Protestant denominations to attend schools under Protestant management. The grant is means-tested, which means you must demonstrate your level of need. The amount of grant aid you receive will depend on your earnings during the assessable year. If your income exceeds the maximum allowable level, no grant will be allocated.
Assessable Year
For the 2022/23 school year, the assessable year is 2020.
How does the Means Test work?
Every application is means tested according to a standard formula. The basic calculation is:
(After Tax Income + Social Welfare Payments+ all other income) – (Rent/Mortgage) – (Dependent Child Allowance) = Net Reckonable Income (NRI)
Liquid assets (e.g. cash, savings, investment bonds) of up to €80,000 are disregarded from the means test. Any assets over this amount are added to the NRI.
The value of the family home/farm/business is not included in the means test. Second homes/rental properties must have a net value (i.e. market value – mortgage) of less than €375,000.
Special circumstances allowances can be made for further reductions to the NRI. Full details of the special circumstances allowances are available on the website
How much grant aid will I receive?
You can use the means test calculator here to estimate the amount of grant you will receive
The current grant amounts and rates of dependent child allowance are available here
When do I apply?
If you have just received an offer of a school place you should apply to us within two weeks of accepting your offer. You should request the registration form link from the school.
If your child is already in an SEC school, then you must register by 30 October. The link is available from the school.
If you have previously applied to the SEC we will send you the link in September each year. You must reapply every year and ensure you register by 30 October. Late registrations cannot be accommodated.
My income has changed dramatically since the assessable year?
We recognise that from time to time major changes can occur between years. If you did not apply because last year because you were ineligible and you would now be eligible, there is a chance we can consider a late application. Where your income has been reduced dramatically, you can request a reassessment of your application. To discuss this further please email support@secgrant.ie
I’m not sure if I’m eligible
To discuss your eligibility, contact our support officer at support@secgrant.ie
I want to apply
Please consult our how to apply section