The Student Grant Scheme is the principal financial support for students participating in higher education. The Scheme provides for fee and maintenance grants to all students who meet the qualifying criteria such as means, residency, nationality and progression. 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.
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 Dependant 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.
One Parent Family Payment, Jobseekers Allowance Transition and Disability Allowance are eligible payments for the purposes of qualifying for the special rate of grant. All three social welfare payments, where paid to the applicant, are income disregards for student grant purposes and are not included in the means test. This treatment, along with other provisions of the scheme, ensures that those students most in need receive supports commensurate with their needs.
As in any statutory scheme, a core principle of the student grant scheme is that there is consistency of approach and an equitable treatment for applicants as part of the means assessment process. All applications are assessed nationally with reference to the terms and conditions of the relevant student grant scheme. The terms and conditions of funding are applied impartially to all applicants.
Apart from the student grant scheme, students with disabilities are also entitled to support under the Fund for Students with Disabilities (FSD) which provides funding to higher and further education institutions to assist them in offering supports and services to eligible students with disabilities so that they can participate on an equal basis with their peers. The purpose of the FSD is to provide students with a disability with the necessary assistance to enable them to access, fully participate in and successfully complete their chosen course of study.
Additional supports to lone parents are available through the PATH 2 1916 Bursary Fund. Eligible students can be pursuing an approved full-time or part-time undergraduate course that meets the guidelines of the Fund in one of the institutions approved for funding. It is a condition of the 1916 Bursary Fund that at least 20% of bursaries be made available to Lone Parents. Since the commencement of PATH 2, over the last 4 years a total of 235 Lone Parents were allocated a 1916 Bursary, exceeding the 20% requirement each year. PATH 2 funding will continue into 2022/2023.
DFHERIS bursaries and FSD funding does not negatively affect SUSI grant eligibility for students.
Students in third-level institutions experiencing exceptional financial need can apply for support under the Student Assistance Fund (SAF). Students can apply for the SAF to help with either temporary or ongoing financial difficulties and can be assisted towards their rent, childcare costs, transport costs, medical costs and books/class materials. This Fund is administered on a confidential, discretionary basis and assists students, in a sensitive and compassionate manner, who might otherwise be unable to continue their third level studies due to their financial circumstances. Details of this fund are available from the Access Office in the third level institution attended.
