Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 February 2022
136. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the funding allocated in 2021 for the student assistance fund; the amount envisaged to support students in 2022 by institute; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6326/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Student Assistance Fund is a critical support which is allocated by my Department to higher education institutions. The fund has a dual focus. It is designed to support students from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds with ongoing needs for financial support and also to provide emergency financial assistance for other students. Students can apply for supports from this fund through their Access Office.
The core funding for the Student Assistance Fund pre-Covid is €9.1 million per annum. This includes €1 million which was added to the fund in 2017 for part-time students who are lone parents or members of the other access target groups under the National Access Plan. Prior to that the fund supported full-time students only.
From the start of the pandemic, I have listened to the perspectives of students and their families who have told me of the significant impact which the pandemic has had on the financial situation of many learners.
That is why, as part of my Department’s response to the issues affecting students arising from the pandemic, I have allocated significantly higher amounts to the Fund over the past two academic years. In total, €18.2 million was allocated for the 2020/2021 academic year.
Last week, I announced the allocation of an additional €1.3 million of once off further funding for this year, which brings the allocation for the 2021/22 academic year to €18.5 million. In addition €1.9 million has also been allocated in Covid-19 funding to a contingency fund for access services.
This increased funding allocation has assisted more students who have found themselves in the situation of being unable to meet the costs associated with day-to-day participation in higher education. It has helped students in paying bills, buying food, books and other classroom materials and has assisted students with the costs of childcare as they return to campus. It has supported people remaining in higher education who otherwise would have been under too much financial pressure to do so.
The core funding allocation to the Student Assistant Fund for the 2022/23 academic year is €9.1 million. This funding will be allocated to institutions in Quarter 3 of 2022, so the breakdown of funding per institution will not be known until then.
However, currently the standard allocation model that is used to calculate each (HEIs) Student Assistance Fund core allocation is as follows:
- 40% is based on the number of Full Time Equivalent students in the HEI.
- 60% based on Deprivation Index Scores (DIS) data. Where DIS data is not available, the sectoral average is used.
The changes I announced in Budget 2022 which will come into effect for the 2022/2023 academic year have introduced measures to address the cost of living. These measures include a €200 increase to all maintenance grants, increasing certain income thresholds by €1000 and reducing the qualifying distance criteria for the non-adjacent rate of maintenance grant from 45km to 30km which will significantly increase the maintenance grant rate for students, who were previously entitled to the adjacent rate of maintenance grant, due to the distance between their place of residence and their college falling between 30km and 45km.
These changes will mean that more students will be entitled to receive a SUSI grant and that this grant will be worth more to students. These are very important measures that will assist in tackling the cost of College Education for students who are in most need of assistance.
