Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 3 March 2021
622. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science his views on a matter in relation to SUSI reform (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10972/21]
View answer624. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if a course (details supplied) will be included in SUSI reform; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11028/21]
View answer625. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science his plans to include graduate entry medicine in the SUSI reform; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11086/21]
View answer632. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science his plans to include graduate entry medicine in the promised SUSI review given that students of this course must pay high fees but are not eligible for SUSI funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11350/21]
View answer641. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the progress being made on the review of the SUSI scheme; the changes that have been identified; if the new criteria for the scheme will be available to students making their applications in 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11667/21]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 622, 624, 625, 632 and 641 together.
Under 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.
To satisfy the terms and conditions of the Student Grant Scheme in relation to progression, a student must be moving from year to year within a course, having successfully completed the previous year or be transferring from one course to another where the award for the subsequent course is of a higher level than the previous course.
Students pursuing GEM programmes do so as second degree courses and consequently are not eligible for free fees funding or for student grants. However, in order to widen access to GEM programmes, and give assistance towards the financial burden on each student pursuing these programmes, the fees of participating EU students are partly subsidised by the State via the Higher Education Authority (HEA).
Institutions participating in the graduate medical programme have been requested to provide accompanying services and supports to facilitate the participation of disadvantaged students in the programme. Details of these services and supports are available from the relevant institution.
The Programme for Government contains commitments to, among other things, review SUSI eligibility criteria, adjacency rates and postgraduate grant supports.
The review of the Student Grant Scheme has just commenced and is due to report in Summer 2021. My Department is overseeing the implementation of the review through a steering group with student representation as well as representation from SUSI. Stakeholders in the student grant system will be invited to provide contributions via a formal submission process in the coming weeks. These submissions will be considered in the context of the parameters of the Programme for Government commitments, whilst recognising that the scheme operates in the context of competing educational priorities and limited public funding. The aim of the student grant scheme is to make a contribution to the cost of going to college; covering the full cost has never been a feasible option. At this point I cannot pre-empt the outcome of the review to indicate when any proposed changes will come into effect.
The Student Grant Scheme and Student Support Regulations for the 2021/22 academic year will be published towards the end of March/early April 2021. The opening of SUSI's online grant application system will coincide with the publication of the scheme. Grant applications are submitted online via www.susi.ie. Further information in relation to student grant assistance is also available from this website. The telephone number for SUSI’s Helpdesk is 0761 087 874.
Students on graduate entry medicine courses may be eligible to apply to the Student Assistance Fund for financial support. The SAF guidelines provide that students with a previous higher education qualification at the same NFQ level, or who, in the past, attended higher education without ultimately obtaining a qualification, may be considered for support on a case-by-case basis and subject to available funding.
In addition, tax relief at the standard rate of tax may also be available in respect of tuition fees paid for approved courses at approved colleges of higher education. Further information on this tax relief is available from a student's local Tax Office or from the Revenue Commissioners website, www.revenue.ie
Budget 2021 provided for enhanced postgraduate supports from next year including the fee grant amount rising from €2,000 to €3,500 and the income threshold for eligibility for these grants to increase from €31,500, now €54,240. This is an initial step in meeting part of the Government’s commitments regarding SUSI grant support.
