Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1960.To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the income that is assessed in the case of an applicant who may apply for SUSI grant funding whose parents are deceased and who is in the care of a guardian; and if he will make a statement on the matter.[33990/24]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

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.

When a dependent applicant is applying to SUSI and their parents are deceased, the income of their guardian may be considered when assessing their grant application, depending on the legal status of the guardianship.

A legal guardian is a person who has been appointed by a court and has the legal authority and corresponding duty to make decisions for another person. The student’s income and that of their legal guardian(s) is included in the assessment of applications from dependent and mature dependent students.

Income from guardians who are not court appointed legal guardians is not included when calculating the reckonable income of a dependent student’s application.

If an applicant considers they have been unjustly refused a student grant, or that the rate of grant awarded is not the correct one, they may appeal, in the first instance, to SUSI. If they have had an appeal turned down in writing by an appeals officer in SUSI and remain of the view that the scheme has not been interpreted correctly in their case, an appeal may be submitted to the independent Student Grants Appeals Board within the required timeframe (i.e. not later than 30 days after the notification of the determination of the appeals officer to the applicant). Such appeals can be made by the appellant online via www.studentgrantappeals.ie.

Colm Burke (Cork North Central, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1961.To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of any potential changes to the SUSI grant criteria to allow for the funding of hybrid and part-time courses; and if he will make a statement on the matter.[33999/24]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I was delighted to launch the new Part Time Fee Scheme for Specified Undergraduate Courses on August 1st, which will be introduced from September 2024.

This is the first time, under the Student Support Act, that fee support will be available for students studying part-time. Fee support will be provided to eligible part-time students attending specified publicly funded undergraduate courses leading to a major award.

There are 62 part-time courses identified as being eligible for this scheme for the 2024/25 academic year, encompassing both in-person and hybrid (part in-person, part online) provision. Eligible courses must have an average of between 30 and 50 credits (ECTS) per year.

Eligibility will be subject to meeting nationality, progression and residency criteria, similar to the existing Student Grant Scheme. This Scheme is means tested and a student’s total reckonable household income must fall below the threshold of €55,924 for the 2024/25 academic year. SUSI are administering the Scheme which is now open for applications for funding for the 2024/25 academic year at www.susi.ie.

This is an important new initiative which will open the doors of higher education to many groups who cannot participate in full time programmes.

My Department is committed to monitoring and evaluating the scheme during the pilot stage of this new initiative and there will be opportunities for new courses that meet the eligibility criteria to be included for the 2025/26 academic year to provide students with more flexibility of choice.