Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 July 2022
427. Deputy Aodhán Ó Ríordáin asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science The number of students that qualify for postgraduate fee grants; the number that applied in 2021; the total funding for same in the 2021/2022 academic year; the estimated cost of restoring entitlement for full maintenance student grants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38504/22]
View answerThe main support available to students is the statutory based Student Grant Scheme where students are studying for the first time or are progressing to study at a higher level. 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. Currently Postgraduate students who meet the qualifying conditions for the special rate of grant under the Student Grant Scheme are eligible for the postgraduate special rate of maintenance grant. The income threshold for this grant is €24,500, also special rate postgraduate students are eligible to have their post graduate tuition fees paid up to the maximum fee limit of €6,270. All other postgraduate students who earn below the income threshold of €54,240 in 2021/22 qualify for postgraduate fee contribution of €3,500.
To date there have been 5,266 applications at postgraduate level for the 2021/22 academic year, of which circa 3,900 have been awarded. Of these circa 1,000 have been awarded the special rate of grant, which includes a maintenance payment of up to €5,915. The estimated cost to restore maintenance grants to the remaining grant holders who are in receipt of a "fee only grant" would be in the region of €7.5m for a full year. This would benefit in the region of 2,600 students currently receiving a fee only grant based on 2021/22 awards of which 90% are paid. Not all grant holders who are awarded a grant are paid out for a variety of factors including failure to attend the course. As the 2021/22 application process has not yet been finalised due to issues such as ongoing appeals or outstanding queries to applicants, it is not possible at this stage to give the total amount of funding that has been paid out to this cohort.
