Marie Moloney (Labour)
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From the beginning I was one of the biggest critics of SUSI. Everything was going wrong; documents were constantly being lost and everything was topsy-turvy. I commend the body for the improvements and strides it has made. I have not received a complaint about its operations for some time. There has, therefore, been a vast improvement.

In the event of a student’s mother remarrying, is it correct that the step-parent’s income is not taken into consideration when assessing a grant application? Many people are not aware that if they lose their job, they can reapply following a change of circumstances.

If they do apply under a change of circumstances, however, a late application must be made. An appeal is submitted, they must wait for the response and then they have to submit a late application. It is a bit of a waste of time. Why can SUSI not just take the application and assess it instead of making people go through an appeal process?

Can the Department give an update on how the HEAR scheme is going? Has there been a good uptake? How is it working? Has it been beneficial to students? Has there been much feedback on it?

On the question of reckonable income, it is all very well to say a person has gross income of between €45,000 and €50,000 but what about that person's disposable income? A working person with that kind of salary might actually end up with less money than an unemployed person or one who works part time, after they have paid tax, PRSI, levies and everything else. We should move towards looking at people's net income for assessment. Has the Department considered a loan scheme for students who are not eligible for a third level grant?

There is a lot of messing around with applications, in particular for the one-parent family where the parent goes back to education. They are advised to claim the back-to-education allowance and then they find they are not eligible for the maintenance grant. They have to go back on the one-parent family allowance in order that they can qualify. We should move towards a situation where the back-to-education allowance qualifies a person for the maintenance grant.