Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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I thank the witnesses for coming and apologise for the delay, which was entirely on the committee's side and not theirs. I want USI's opinion on the assessment of income of parents of a learner. There was a very unusual circumstance that first brought this to my attention a number of years ago and it involved twins who were learners heading off to college. They had not lived with their biological parents for a number of years and were living with their grandparents. Everything else in their world was assessed on the grandparents' income. However, when it came to SUSI, because there was no formal documentation - it had never been a requirement of Tusla or anybody else who was involved in these young people's lives - it was very selective in the criteria it applied. They had received the letter from the local superintendent, which ticked that box. However, there was nothing from a court in place, which these young learners were never going to get as they had turned 18 years of age and were no longer minors. This was the first of many similar circumstances that have popped up over the past number of years. The level of stress and distress that placed on the learners and on their grandparents could have been very easily avoided if the application process took into account what a modern family looks like. It is no longer the stereotypical mam, dad and two children. Families come in all different shapes and sizes today.

A similar case happened arose a short time after that where an adult learner, who was 23 years of age, was a licensee and not a tenant holder. They were renting a room, which they had done for a number of years. They were never going to have a tenancy agreement; they were a licensee. Fortunately for them, the rent happened to include their bills, such as WiFi. They made one payment a month to the person from whom they were renting the room. They also faced barriers in applying for SUSI that could have been very easily avoided with a level of common sense, which I know can sometimes be a rarity.

Those are two examples I can give sitting here today. From USI's perspective, how common are these issues and what impact is it having on those who are seeking to go to college for the first time?