Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses from SUSI. One of the issues last year was staffing levels. Are there enough staff now to cater for applicants across the system? There were almost 70,000 applications for 2012-13, with 16,500 renewals from last year. Will there be the same number applying for first-time grants this year? Are there enough staff to deal with that? Are there figures for the number of students who had to drop out because they were unable to access payments early enough? When will those payments be made for 2013-14? Applications have been open since May, so will students receive payments in October and November?

I met the USI this morning and was told there were particular difficulties for 118 students, with a further 183 students stuck in the system because they are estranged or not living at home. What can be done to address that? It happens every year so we should sort out a structure they can follow instead of finding themselves all over the place. They have made the point that they have gone to Garda stations to have it certified that they do not live at home with their parents. What process could be put in place for those students?

Some 4,260 students were given grants on appeal. That is only 6% but it is still quite a high number. What made the difference in the appeal?