Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 February 2015
448. Deputy Éamon Ó Cuív asked the Minister for Education and Skills the qualifying criteria in respect of grant aid under the student grant scheme 2014, for a non-European Union citizen, who is over 18 years of age, and has been living legally in the State for over five years; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6864/15]
View answerUnder the terms of the student grant scheme, grant assistance is awarded to students who meet the prescribed conditions of funding including those which relate to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means. The nationality requirements for the student grant scheme are set out in section 14 of the Student Support Act 2011 and regulation 5 of the Student Support Regulations 2014.
In all cases, to qualify for a student grant, it is the grant applicant, and not his/her parents, that must meet the nationality or prescribed immigration status requirements in their own right. The onus is on the grant applicant to provide the necessary documentary evidence as proof of their nationality or immigration status to the relevant grant awarding authority.
Article 32 of the Student Grant Scheme 2014 provides for the review of eligibility for the award of a grant in the event of changes of circumstances in the academic year, including a change in relation to a student's nationality or immigration status. This means that where a student acquires Irish citizenship by naturalisation, or is granted permission to remain provided for in the Act or Regulations during the course of their studies, he/she may apply to SUSI to have his/her application re-assessed.
