Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank all of the representatives for their presentations. I will focus on Mr. Connolly. I agree with everything included in his submission. I am sure other committee members will pick up on what is included in the other presentations.

I heard what Mr. Connolly had to say about operations, but in a sense it is about policies because to improve operations we might need to improve the policies attached to them.

From Mr. Connolly's experience of rolling out the system, what knowledge has he gathered in the time he has spent in his position about the barriers to people accessing SUSI? According to documentation, SUSI is refusing affidavits as a form of proof of parents being estranged. Why is that so? What kind of documentation does SUSI suggest a child or young person should provide to show that he or she has lived with a grandparent for 20 years because of a volatile situation with his or her parents? I will cite an example that I only received yesterday, although the girl in question is not the only person to have experienced this. She supplied an affidavit, a birth certificate with no father named on it, provided an overview of her situation and showed proof of her having lived with her grandmother. SUSI's response was that she needed to get a letter from her mother as proof, a mother to whom she had not spoken in a long time. I wonder about SUSI's training around and understanding of some of the predicaments that young people can be put in just to have their applications processed. Women get affidavit forms signed in order to acquire passports for children who are estranged from their fathers, yet an affidavit, which is a legal document, is being refused by SUSI. What is the policy behind that?

In Mr. Connolly's experience of applications and working with his team, who else should be viewed as a class of people in terms of independence or dependence? Should social determinants be taken into account when, for example, someone exceeds the financial threshold slightly but is the first person in his or her family to go to college? There are other social determinants. A mother might be a hairdresser and a father might work in construction, bringing them slightly over the threshold, but they have no educational background themselves. Since SUSI's establishment, should other classes have been recognised when making refusals? I am not asking Mr. Connolly to comment on policy, but on his wealth of experience of trends among the people applying.

Should family sizes be taken into account? Should we switch from income to outgoings? An income can look one way, but with high rents, mortgages and costs of living, someone could still be in the red and above SUSI's threshold regardless of his or her income. In light of Mr. Connolly's experience of the types of people being refused, should the threshold be tweaked?

I am not asking Mr. Connolly for his personal opinion, but in terms of the grant following the person rather than the institution, do many people fall through the cracks because of their socio-economic backgrounds? They are not in a position to get the points they need, so they are forced into private colleges that they cannot afford. I understand the arguments for not funding private colleges, but should the grant follow particular classes of people instead of institutions?

I hope that all of my questions were clear.