A rule which prevents non-EU nationals from qualifying for third-level grants unless they have refugee status is discriminatory and should be annulled, the Equality Tribunal has said.
In a ruling on two cases taken against the Department of Education, the tribunal says the nationality rule is "clearly contrary" to the Equal Status Act's prohibition of discrimination based on nationality.
The immigrants applied for maintenance grants from their local Vocational Educational Committees but were refused because they did not hold EU nationality or have official refugee status.
Their cases to the Equality Tribunal were brought by the Free Legal Advice Centres.
The students maintained that they were refused the grants because of their race, which is one of the nine categories under which discrimination is prohibited under equality laws.
In one case, the man had lived in Ireland since 1987 and by 1999 had achieved "long-term residency" status here, but was not an Irish passport holder. He had applied in 1999 to the VEC for a maintenance grant of about €2,000 to attend a post-Leaving Certificate medical course.
The other complainant came to Ireland in 1993 to join her husband, who had become an Irish national. She was naturalised in 1998 and obtained her own Irish passport in 2001. In 1999, she applied for and was awarded a maintenance grant by the VEC to attend a childcare diploma course. The grant was paid in monthly instalments and she received €1,668 before she was told that she did not qualify for the grant and was asked to refund the money paid to her.
A Department of Education spokeswoman said the implications of the decision in relation to the maintenance grant schemes for 2003 were being examined.