Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 29 June 2022
132. Deputy Matt Carthy asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science further to Parliamentary Question No. 524 of 29 March 2022, the total number of full-time and part-time students enrolled in the referenced educational institutions who could potentially avail of the student hardship fund in each of the years 2017 to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34746/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Student Assistance Fund (SAF) is allocated to Higher Education Institutions to assist participating students in both temporary and ongoing financial need, where students apply depending on their particular circumstances.
This fund is managed by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) on behalf of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (DFHERIS). These funds are allocated to Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) on academic year basis.
I have included a link to the guidelines for the Student Assistance Fund which shows the eligibility criteria and the types of costs that may be funded through the Student Assistance Fund and a link to the statistics page on the Higher Education Authority website which will show you the number of students, both part time and full time that have been enrolled over the last number of years.
I am also attaching a table that will show you the number of students by Institution that benefitted from the Student Assistance Fund from 2016/17 to 2021/22.
It is not possible for my department or the Higher Education Authority to be more specific on the number of students who could potentially avail of this fund as an Institution would not assess a students' eligibility until an application is received by the institution.
The Guidelines for the Student Assistance Fund are available here: hea.ie/funding-governance-performance/funding/student-finance/student-assistance-fund/
Information on the number of students enrolled in a fulltime and part-time capacity is available in the HEA statistics page, (Data for Download and Visualisations | Statistics | Higher Education Authority (hea.ie).
