Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 September 2015
543. Deputy Paul J. Connaughton asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of students who have had their Student Universal Support Ireland student grant changed from the non-adjacent rate to the adjacent rate this year, due to a recalculation of the distances from students' homes to colleges; the process underway to re-examine distances; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [33206/15]
View answerThere were 220 cases where an award changed from Non-Adjacent to Adjacent between the 2014/15 and 2015/16 academic years. In the majority of cases the reclassification occurred as a consequence of new information provided by the student. The current qualifying distance for the higher non-adjacent rate of student grant, at 45km, takes into account a reasonable radius within which students may commute on a daily basis. There are no plans at present to revise the distance criteria.
