EMA is a weekly allowance for young people.

It provides financial assistance to help young people from low income households to:

• stay on at school
• continue their education

EMAs are available to young people between 16 and 19 years of age.

They are assessed based on:

• gross taxable household income
• the number of dependent children living within the household

‘Dependent children’ are young people:

• up to the age of 16
• between the ages of 16 and 25 and in further or higher education

You must make a new application for every academic year.