Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 9 September 2021
796. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of SUSI applications that were rejected in each of the past five years and to date in 2021. [41505/21]
View answerThe principal support provided by the Department in financial terms is the Student Grant Scheme. Under the 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.
The decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter, in the first instance, for the centralised student grant awarding authority SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland) to determine.
The number of SUSI applications that were rejected in each of the past five years and to date in 2021 are as follows.
|
Academic year |
2016-17 |
2017-18 |
2018-19 |
2019-20 |
2020-21 |
*2021-22 |
|
Rejected |
17,639 |
17,130 |
15,879 |
16,747 |
18,593 |
9,956 |
*For the current academic year the application process for 2021-22 is still open. However, I can confirm that as of 5th September 2021, SUSI had received just over 88,000 applications and assessed just over 59,700 with just over 51,900 qualifying for grant support.
