Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 May 2022
107. Deputy Brian Stanley asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if her Department will revise upwards the earning limits for students who are applying for SUSI grants. [23263/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI am committed to the addressing the costs associated with higher education, and this has been a priority for me over recent Budgets.
It is also why I commissioned the review of the Student Grant Scheme, which will support the strategic development of the scheme over the coming years in ways.
On the issue of student earnings, while the report does reference the potential to broaden the student earnings deduction, it recommends that the preferred course of action should be to increase the levels of financial support in order to reduce the hours which need to be worked by students in order to support better engagement with their studies and better retention on programmes.
This recommendation is in line with the approach I have taken to increase student grant maintenance payments, including the special rate of grant, by €200 per year starting from this September which will benefit all students entitled to receive a maintenance Grant.
More generally, it is the intention of my Department to publish an annual costs of education paper in advance of each year’s Budget. This will set out the options available to address costs and financial barriers for students and their families in accessing higher education, including eligibility and assessment changes to the Scheme itself, changes to grant rates and measures to change the student contribution. This should facilitate a discussion among the public, stakeholders and among Members in the House on which measures should be prioritised in the Budgetary process to support students and their families.
