Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

When the Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, system was launched in June, it was heralded as an efficient and cost-effective means by which to process student grant applications. There is no doubt that it is better than the old system, with which 66 awarding authorities were involved and to which were attached different types of application process. I accept that there have been improvements. Unfortunately, however, the new system has proven to be problematic for a number of students. In certain instances, information has not been forthcoming. When students make contact by telephone in order to obtain additional information, the operators on the other end of the line do not have it to hand. This has created significant problems for a small number of students in the context of having their grants awarded. The latter is having a knock-on effect for such students in that they are having difficulties in accessing timetables because they have not yet been able to access the grant system. They are also encountering problems with regard to accessing facilities as a result of the fact that they are not yet registered.

I am aware of one case involving a family that is in receipt of social welfare and whose child is attending UCC for the first time. The family in question lives 40 miles from the college. As a result of difficulties with regard to registering under the grant system, it is costing the family almost €100 per week to send the student in question to and from UCC by public transport. It has not been possible for the family to purchase textbooks because the grant has not yet been approved. This is giving rise to major problems. The family in question applied for the grant and submitted all the necessary paperwork in advance of the relevant deadline. However, the paperwork was returned and additional information is being sought. When the family tried to obtain the latter from the Revenue Commissioners, they were informed that it would take a week. A further three weeks will have passed by the time this information is obtained, returned and processed. What has happened in this case has led to a huge financial burden being placed on the student in question. He now faces the possibility of being obliged to drop out of college. He applied to his local credit union to try to secure a short-term loan but, unfortunately, he was unsuccessful in this regard because he could not get a guarantor.

As a result of the flaws in the SUSI system, a small number of students have not been awarded their grants and are facing some really tough choices in the context of whether they can continue to pursue their college courses. Will the Minister of State review the position with regard to the SUSI system? The Union of Students in Ireland, USI, has highlighted a number of improvements which could be made in order to make the system more efficient and cost-effective. I ask that the Department consult the USI in respect of some of the proposals it has put forward. The USI carried out a survey in respect of all the students who use the SUSI system in order to discover whether the flaws and inefficiencies to which I refer can be ironed out prior to the next round of applications in 2013.

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