Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 22 April 2015
2. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills her views on the report from the Comptroller and Auditor General on the issue of the operation of Student Universal Support Ireland; and her plans to make appropriate changes. [15740/15]
View answerMy question seeks the Minister's views on the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General on the operation of the SUSI grant system.
I welcome the publication of this report by the Comptroller and Auditor General. While SUSI's first year of operation in 2012-13 was problematic, it is widely acknowledged that since then it has achieved a dramatic improvement and that the new system has bedded down successfully and is working well. SUSI is engaged in an ongoing process of continuous improvement. My Department, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the City of Dublin Education and Training Board, CDETB, have accepted the recommendations of the report, and significant progress has been made on all of them. The report reflects the valuable lessons arising from the experience gained in this project for other major reform projects in both the education sector and the wider public service. Consistent with the report's recommendations, significant steps have been taken by my Department to address its approach to key reform projects.
It is clear that SUSI was a disaster in the initial set-up year, and all sides would recognise that, including the report from the Comptroller and Auditor General, which states that many of the expected benefits of the new centralised process did not materialise in 2012-13.
I wish to focus on the appeals process and the high level of appeals. In 2013, 74% of decisions were overturned on appeal by an independent board, and in 2014 the number overturned dropped to 60%. This is a significant number. Let us look at how the appeals process works. Applicants have 30 days to submit an appeal, and 30 days are allowed for the appeal to be processed. If the outcome is negative, the applicant has a further 30 days to appeal the decision to an independent board, and that board then has a maximum of 60 days to make a judgment. This means it could take up to 150 days to complete the appeals process. When we consider the high level of decisions overturned, that indicates that significant numbers of students are under unbelievable stress. Some are dropping out of college as a result of the stress from an appeals system that appears to be failing. For some reason, there are failings within SUSI in regard to students' eligibility for grants.
I acknowledge that there were serious difficulties in SUSI's first year, but efforts have since been made to improve the situation and to speed up the process. The reason for the various appeal procedures is to be fair to students. However, I agree with the Deputy that the number of appeals is high. We have an opportunity to review the scheme each year and I have been looking at it to see if we can make some improvements this year. We will publish the scheme for this year in the near future.
We need to keep the scheme under review because it is still relatively new and the award of grants is important to each student. In the early years of the scheme, the number of appeals was significantly higher than would have been expected, but the system is under continuous review.
I acknowledge that there has been an improvement in the situation, so I will not be completely negative. In the 2013-14 academic year, there was an increase of 70% in the speed at which grants were allocated, which was welcome. However, the appeal system is still failing students and some 60% of decisions are being overturned by the independent appeals board. This is unacceptable. The rate is too high and indicates a systemic failing in the SUSI review process for appeals.
If we are considering a review of the SUSI scheme, it should be a complete review, because there are significant issues in regard to estrangement, adjacent rates and how they are applied, and eligibility criteria. Any review should encompass those issues, and I implore the Minister to consider them also.
We are looking to address issues in the current scheme, and that review will issue in the near future. SUSI has made an effort to be as fair as possible to students, and this may be one of the reasons for the review process followed by the appeals process. This process is designed to ensure that students get their entitlement. I accept that the process can cause significant stress and difficulties for students. I met with SUSI recently and raised some of the issues the Deputy has raised. I will do my best to improve the scheme for this year. I have raised the issues of estrangement and the adjacent rate with SUSI. We need to ensure there is clarity for students and that the system is fair to everybody.
