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Student Grant Scheme Application Numbers

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 6 December 2012

Thursday, 6 December 2012

Questions (28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 35)

Charlie McConalogue

Question:

28. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of student grants broken down on a county basis approved to date by the higher education grant Student Universal Support Ireland system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55004/12]

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Charlie McConalogue

Question:

29. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of students broken down on a county basis that have been approved for a student grant by Student Universal Support Ireland and who have begun to receive their payments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55005/12]

View answer

Charlie McConalogue

Question:

30. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of students grants broken down on a county basis that have yet to be approved by the higher education grant Student Universal Support Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55006/12]

View answer

Charlie McConalogue

Question:

31. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of grants broken down on a county basis that have been refused by Student Universal Support Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55007/12]

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Charlie McConalogue

Question:

33. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of appeals broken down on a county basis received to date by Student Universal Support Ireland for student grants; the length of time it is taking to assess and make a decision on an appeal in each county; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55009/12]

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Charlie McConalogue

Question:

35. Deputy Charlie McConalogue asked the Minister for Education and Skills the current waiting time for an application to the higher education grant Student Universal Support Ireland system to be processed; the current waiting time for the processing of appeals to same broken down on a county basis; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [55011/12]

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Written answers

I propose to take Questions Nos. 28 to 31, inclusive, 33 and 35 together.

The first table below provides a breakdown on a county basis of the status of the student grant applications received by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI). The data provided is at a point in time on 5th December 2012. It gives the position for student grant applications for attendance at both further and higher education. This data has been provided to my Department by SUSI. The second table below provides a breakdown on a county basis of the number of appeals received to date by SUSI.

The waiting time for processing a student grant application by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) varies, depending on a number of factors including the volume of applications received at any given time, the complexity of the grant applicants circumstances, and time taken by the applicant to submit all the required documentary evidence to enable a final decision to be made on an application. Every effort is made to ensure that students get decisions on their grant applications as soon as possible. Currently, SUSI has some 272 applications on hand which are awaiting provisional assessment - these are applications received after the closing date. The number of applications being processed has been increasing incrementally in recent weeks. SUSI has indicated that it is on target to progress all applications received to date with the necessary supporting documentation between now and the end of the year.

Appeals received by SUSI are dealt with in date order, and the waiting time for decisions on appeals can vary depending on the complexity of the grant applicants circumstances which are under appeal. SUSI aims to issue determinations on appeals as promptly as possible and within the specified timeframes defined in the Student Support Act, 2011. The county from which an appeal originates is not a factor which impacts on the waiting time for appeals.

SUSI Applications - Processing Position by County

County

Total Applications 

Awarded

Cancelled/ Refused

Appealed To SuSi

Awaiting Provisional Assessment(New applications after closing date)

With SUSI Awaiting Review (Documents received)

Reviewed and Supporting Documents requested

Maintenance Payments

Carlow

964

300

156

15

8

36

449

110

Cavan

1322

384

216

31

6

84

601

190

Clare

1775

539

266

40

5

97

828

235

Cork

6859

1815

1274

115

24

332

3299

730

Donegal

2877

981

423

69

16

150

1238

407

Dublin

13999

3348

2898

209

59

487

6998

1273

Galway

4403

1230

705

103

14

202

2149

472

Kerry

2477

725

403

48

12

131

1158

306

Kildare

2699

752

568

59

10

111

1199

295

Kilkenny

1390

422

237

24

8

66

633

140

Laois

1050

321

167

22

2

60

478

143

Leitrim

637

180

98

13

1

56

289

73

Limerick

2844

819

459

55

14

131

1366

316

Longford

754

222

119

12

5

43

353

87

Louth

2149

645

353

55

12

78

1006

256

Mayo

2471

734

386

47

13

146

1145

283

Meath

2413

731

452

46

5

95

1084

307

Monaghan

1103

336

177

28

2

77

483

145

Offaly

1232

420

217

26

3

50

516

173

Roscommon

1170

346

192

30

5

69

528

147

Sligo

1212

320

212

20

5

51

604

101

Tipperary

2639

800

457

62

4

103

1213

330

Waterford

1911

596

377

36

10

69

823

193

Westmeath

1669

534

294

42

6

82

711

241

Wexford

2340

780

404

46

11

119

980

338

Wicklow

1935

553

390

42

11

82

857

254

Outside of Ireland

533

94

138

13

1

11

276

25

Total

66827

18927 *

12038 **

1308 ***

272

3018

31264 #

7570 ##

*This figure includes some 2,650 provisionally awarded awaiting final course acceptance forms. The figure does not include grants awarded but currently under appeal status.

**This figure does not include grants cancelled or refused that are currrently under appeal status.

***This figure includes grant applications currently under appeal status and also a number where recent decisions have been made.

#This figure includes some 25,807 applications for which SUSI is awaiting documentation and some 5,457 on hand with SUSI which are being checked to ensure all documentation submitted is complete.

##This figure includes a number of students who will be paid their student grants on the 7th December, 2012. This figure does not include some 3,193 students awarded a "fees only" grant (either the student contribution or fees) - these payments are being made directly to the relevant institution.

Appeals received to date by SUSI

County

Appealed to SUSI

Carlow

21

Cavan

43

Clare

53

Cork

165

Donegal

92

Dublin

299

Galway

149

Kerry

70

Kildare

86

Kilkenny

34

Laois

32

Leitrim

17

Limerick

74

Longford

16

Louth

73

Mayo

62

Meath

66

Monaghan

37

Offaly

40

Roscommon

38

Sligo

34

Tipperary

91

Waterford

49

Westmeath

60

Wexford

71

Wicklow

67

Outside of Ireland

16

Total

1855

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