Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 26 July 2022
1430. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will consider amending the special rate SUSI grant for persons who are not in receipt of a qualifying social welfare payment to access the special rate if their income is below the threshold; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39746/22]
View answer1431. Deputy Thomas Pringle asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will consider allowing changes of circumstances to be taken into account in the current year for families that are in receipt of social welfare payments only to access special rate grants even if they did not satisfy the criteria for the previous year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [39747/22]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 1430 and 1431 together.
The decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter, in the first instance, for Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) to determine. For the 2022/23 academic year, student grant applications will be assessed based on gross income from all sources for the period 1st January 2021 to 31st December 2021.
Particular priority is afforded to those on the lowest incomes and social welfare dependents through the special rate of grant, which is payable at the higher non-adjacent rate of €6,115 or the adjacent rate of €2,575, depending on the distance travelled to the college attended.
In assessing an application for the 2022/23 academic year, SUSI will have regard to the following qualifying criteria for the special rate of maintenance grant: 1. The student must qualify for the standard rate of grant;
2. Total reckonable income, after income disregards and Child Dependent Increase(s) are excluded, must not exceed €24,500;
3. As at 31st December 2021, the reckonable income must include one of the eligible long-term social welfare payments prescribed in Schedule 2 of the Student Grant Scheme 2022.
Any student who believes his/her student grant application has been assessed incorrectly may also avail of the opportunities to appeal to SUSI and subsequently to the independent Student Grants Appeals Board within the prescribed timeline.
As part of Budget 2022, I secured an additional €15m to enhance the existing financial supports under the Student Grant Scheme for implementation in 2022.
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.
- The income thresholds to qualify for the standard rates of student grant have 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.
Article 32 of the Student Grant Scheme 2022 provides for a review of eligibility for the award of a grant in the event of a change of circumstances in the academic year. If a student or party to their application experiences a change in circumstances that is not a temporary change and is likely to continue for the foreseeable future, they can apply to SUSI to have their application assessed under the change in circumstances provision of the relevant Student Grant Scheme. The income of all parties to the application will be assessed or reassessed on current income and applicants may also be asked to provide evidence of same.
The eligibility criteria for student grants are reviewed annually by the Department and approved by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. All proposals made in relation to education expenditure, including student grants, are considered in the context of the annual Budget. I intend to implement, in a phased way, the recommendations of the Student Grant Scheme review in the context of successive annual Estimates processes. However this will be dependent on the availability of resources to his Department and overall consideration of Budgetary and Ministerial priorities.
