Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 19 October 2021
671. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if all recipients on a SUSI maintenance grant will receive an additional €200; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51174/21]
View answerAs part of Budget 2022, I have secured an additional €15m to enhance the existing financial supports under the Student Grant Scheme.
For the academic year 2022/23 this will mean:-
- An increase to all student grant maintenance payments, including the special rate of grant, of €200 per year which will benefit all students entitled to receive a maintenance Grant. There are currently circa 62,000 SUSI grant recipients receiving maintenance support.
- The income threshold to qualify for the standard rate of student grant has been increased by €1,000.
- The qualifying distance criterion for students to qualify for the non-adjacent rate of grant has been reduced from 45km to 30km, effective from the start of the 2022/23 academic year.
I have prioritised these changes for the 2022/23 academic year and they will benefit thousands of
students building on the improvements that have already been made for postgraduate students through this year’s student grant scheme. These improvements to the student grant scheme have
been a priority for me since taking up my Ministerial appointment.
