Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The Minister has not given an update on the number of students who have been paid the grants. Whenever the issue has been raised in the Dáil, including a Private Members' motion on 12 November, the Minister apologised to students and gave an assurance that over 90% of those who applied to SUSI and expected to be paid would be paid by Christmas. The reality was somewhat different and, as of the start of January, only half the students who expected to be paid in total had been paid. That amounted to 16,000 students approximately, with 32,000 expected to be paid before SUSI finishes work this year.

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