Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 July 2021
421. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will address the barrier Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, grant applications and recipients are facing in accessing accommodation through the rent-a-room scheme (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36319/21]
View answerFor student grant 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 student (i.e. assessed without reference to parental income and address) if he/she has attained the age of 23 on the 1st of January of the year of first entry to an approved course, and is not ordinarily resident with his/her parents from the previous 1st October. Otherwise, he/she would be assessed as a dependent student, i.e. assessed with reference to parental income and address.
The type of issue referred to by the Deputy usually arises where an applicant wishes to apply as an independent Student and is requested to provide evidence of same.
Article 13(3) of the Student Grant Scheme 2021 states that an “independent student” means a mature student who did not ordinarily reside with his or her parents, or either of them, from October of the year before the first point of entry to an approved post leaving certificate course or an approved higher education course or re-entry to an approved course and where it is established to the satisfaction of the awarding authority that they are eligible on that basis.
SUSI does not require Rent-a-Room applicants to be registered with the RTB. However, if an applicant is unable to provide any of the accepted documentation listed below and is refused a grant, they may lodge an appeal to the SUSI Appeals Officer. The Appeals Officer may than request additional documents where an applicant provides evidence of their address and the address that their parent(s) resides as evidence of living separately and independently.
The documentation accepted as evidence of living independently is any of the following;
- A letter confirming that the address is registered with Residential Tenancies Board (RTB);
- A Local Authority lease agreement or a letter confirming the applicant's rental under the Rental Accommodation Scheme (RAS) or any Government housing scheme/arrangement. Private housing lease agreements will not be accepted;
- A letter on headed paper from a Rental Agency confirming the applicant's tenancy;
- A letter confirming the receipt and period of Rent Allowance, Mortgage Interest Supplement or Housing Assistance Payment (HAP);
- A utility bill in the applicant's own name, for example; landline telephone, fixed broadband, gas, electricity, cable/satellite television bill, home heating bills, waste bills, mortgage statements and/or property tax letters. SUSI does not accept mobile telephone bills. If the utility bills in the household are in the applicant's spouse’s name, a marriage certificate should be provided with the utility bill. If an applicant is co-habiting, SUSI will accept utility bills in the applicant's partner’s name covering the relevant period together with correspondence e.g. bank statement/Statement of Liability issued to the applicant at the same address and covering the relevant period; and/or
- Official documentation posted to the applicant at the address and relating to the applicant's residence there. For example, a letter from the Department of Social Protection confirming Rent Allowance at the address. It should be noted that SUSI do not accept bank statements alone for this purpose.
A letter confirming registration with the RTB is one of the forms of documentation which SUSI accepts for independent residency; however, SUSI do not require applicants to be registered with the RTB.
Further information regarding class of applicant (independent or dependent) and the types of documentation accepted as evidence of living independently from parents is available from SUSI’s website: susi.ie/eligibility/applicant-class/.
If an individual applicant considers that she/he has been unjustly refused a student grant, or that the rate of grant awarded is not the correct one, she/he may appeal, in the first instance, to SUSI. Where an individual applicant has had an appeal turned down in writing by SUSI and remains of the view that the scheme has not been interpreted correctly in his/her case, an appeal may be submitted to the independent Student Grants Appeals Board within the required timeframe. Such appeals can be made by the appellant on line via www.studentgrantappeals.ie.
Applicants who do not meet the criteria to be assessed as an independent student for grant purposes, or who cannot supply the necessary documentation to establish independent living for the required period, may still apply to SUSI to have their grant eligibility assessed as a dependent student. The relevant information, including details of parental income, would be required by SUSI to determine grant eligibility as a dependent student.
Students in third-level institutions experiencing exceptional financial need can apply for support under the Student Assistance Fund. This Fund assists students, in a sensitive and compassionate manner, who might otherwise be unable to continue their third level studies due to their financial circumstances. Information on the fund is available through the Access Officer in the third level institution attended. This fund is administered on a confidential, discretionary basis.
