Mr. Graham Doyle:

I am glad to hear that Deputy Daly has had a good experience in dealing with this kind of case. Quite often cases come up through my own section within the Oireachtas helpdesk. In the context of numbers, as Mr. Power said, they are relatively low. SUSI had 103,000 applications altogether for the 2014-15 academic year. Of that number, 170 applications involved estrangement. A further breakdown shows that 50% of those 170 applications have been approved with students awarded the grant. Of the remaining 50%, only ten were refused and we are currently working with the other students. As Deputy Daly said, we must have strict criteria to ensure the system is not abused. We are also cognisant of the extremely sensitive nature of these cases.

We work on a case-by-case basis and we work with the students as best we can. We are very happy that the scheme is not restrictive in relation to evidence required. We take evidence such as a court order which indicates when someone is estranged from the parent. We would take as evidence a Garda incident report which shows a minor may have been removed from the home, or a letter from the HSE from a social worker to confirm that. The reality is however, quite often, that applicants may have none of this evidence. SUSI has met with the Child and Family Agency, and I have met with the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul, at a management level. SUSI accepts evidence from the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul where it can indicate that an applicant is irreconcilably estranged from their parents. We do try to work in supporting the students. We get as much information as we possibly can to build a picture. If we prescribe which documentation we can only receive, that would restrict us. We find that the way we do it is working well. There are ten out of 170 applicants in the 20014-2015 academic year who were refused to date and we are still working with the other students.