Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 20 May 2021
151. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if consideration has been given in the recent review of the SUSI process to resolving the difficulties for SUSI applicants who are estranged from their parents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26787/21]
View answerThe objective of the statutory based student grant scheme is to provide additional assistance where parental income is below a certain threshold or, in the case of independent mature students, where the level of income of the student and his or her spouse warrants additional assistance by way of a grant.
For student grants purposes, students are categorised according to their circumstances either as students dependent on parents or a legal guardian, or as independent mature students.
A student may be assessed as an independent mature student if he or she has attained the age of 23 on the 1st of January of the year of first entry to an approved course or of re-entry following a break in studies of at least three years and is not ordinarily resident with his/her parents from the previous October. Otherwise he or she would continue to be assessed on the basis of parental income.
Only in exceptional cases, where compelling evidence of estrangement from parents/guardians is provided, can candidates who are under 23 be assessed without reference to their parents/guardians income or address. Otherwise he or she will be assessed as a dependent student for student grant purposes i.e. assessed on the basis of the income and address of parents/legal guardians.
The assessment of a case of estrangement is carefully considered to ensure there is sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the exceptional circumstances pertaining in such cases genuinely exists. The scheme does not stipulate precisely how an awarding authority satisfies itself that such circumstances prevail. This is to allow the awarding authority sufficient flexibility to assess the evidence of irrevocable estrangement in each individual case. The type of documentary evidence required is dependent on the applicant's individual circumstances.
The Deputy will be aware that the Programme for Government contains commitments to, among other things, review SUSI eligibility criteria, adjacency rates and postgraduate grant supports. On foot of these commitments I gave approval to commence a review of the Student Grant Scheme. The public consultation process closed a few weeks ago with over 250 submissions received. The consultants are currently in the process of seeking the views of students via a survey process which can be accessed at: https://www.research.net/r/SUSI_review.
While I cannot pre-empt the outcome of the review, it is anticipated that the review will be completed later this year and will inform future considerations regarding the development of student grant policy.
