Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 2 November 2021
681. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the anticipated increase in the number of students that will be able to assess SUSI support as a result of an increase by €1,000 in the income thresholds; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52484/21]
View answerThe Student Grant Scheme, administered by SUSI, provides grant assistance to students pursuing 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. It assists over 70,000 students annually to access third level education.
In the context of Budget 2022 as the Deputy is aware, I commenced the process of making prioritised improvements to the student grant scheme for the academic year 2022-2023. This would allow early progress in addressing key themes emerging from the Student Grant Scheme Review's consultations and research and recent trends in the cost of living.
The Scheme is a demand led scheme and it is not possible to give accurate statistics of how many new students may be eligible by increasing the maximum threshold. However, it is estimated that circa 6,800 existing grant recipients will benefit and circa 5,500 of the 2020/21 applicants would qualify by increasing the threshold of the maximum income level by €1,000.
