From September 2010, all new applicants in receipt of the Back to Education Allowance (BTEA), and the VTOS allowances for those pursuing PLC courses, are no longer eligible for maintenance support under the student grant scheme. However, the cost of the student services charge and tuition fees payable to colleges continues to be met for eligible students by the Exchequer on their behalf.
Officials in my Department have been informed by Student Universal Support Ireland that the grant award letter that issued to the student referred to by the Deputy was sent in error. A revised award letter will issue to the applicant in the coming days to reflect the student's correct entitlement. The Deputy will appreciate that in the context of SUSI having received in excess of 67,000 applications that some errors may inevitably arise when handling a high volume of applications within a relatively short timeframe.
SUSI have quality assurance measures in place which monitors on an on-going basis whether applications are being assessed correctly and in accordance with the terms of the Student Grant Scheme 2012 and the Student Support Regulations 2012. A quality assurance team performs regular reviews on application outcomes. This may result in a change of decision and these instances are regrettable. The quality assurance measures are in place to identify, reduce and eliminate errors in the administration by SUSI of the Student Grant Scheme.
