Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 7 October 2020
188. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if a person (details supplied) in County Kildare will qualify for a SUSI grant; if there is an appeal for a student in their situation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28968/20]
View answerUnder the terms of the Student Grant Scheme, grant assistance is awarded to students attending an approved course in an approved institution who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those relating to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means.
However, Section 14(1) of the Student Support Act 2011 states: In this Act “student” means a person who is ordinarily resident in the State, who has been accepted to pursue, or is pursuing, an approved course at an approved institution and Section 14(4) states For the purposes of subsection (1), a person shall be ordinarily resident in the State if the person (a) has been resident in the State for at least 3 years out of the period of 5 years ending on the day before the relevant date.
As the student in question and her family emigrated to Australia when she was 12 and she has not been resident in the state for 3 of the last 5 years she would not be eligible to be considered for grant assistance under the terms and conditions of the Student Grant Scheme 2020.
