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. See 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 than 20km from the boarding school

The parents/legal guardians of the child must:

  • Have been taxpayers in Republic of Ireland or in receipt of social welfare payments (other than child benefit) in Republic of Ireland during 2020.

Means Test

The SEC 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 with a net value (i.e. market value  – mortgage) of up to €375,000 is disregarded from the means test. Any net value over this amount is added to the NRI

Special circumstances allowances can be made for further reductions to the NRI. Full details of the special circumstances allowances are available here

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 October 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 here