Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

During the course of 2020, SUSI has experienced, not unexpectedly, an increase in the number of applications for grant assistance as well as the number of students seeking a review, understandably, based on the change of circumstances provision in the scheme. This is primarily due to the negative impact that Covid-19 has had on the tenure of employment and income levels. For this reason I sought and secured additional funding of €20 million for 2021 to meet the existing and expected demands on the SUSI grant scheme for the 2020-21 and 2021-22 academic years to ensure that we provide SUSI support to everyone who is eligible.

To date there has been an increase of 4% in the number of applications received by SUSI in comparison to this time last year. SUSI has received 100,826 applications for the 2020-21 academic year. This compares to 96,094 for the 2019-20 academic year. Not every student who qualifies for grant support proceeds to take up a grant. For 2019-20, the actual number of grant holders was around 72,000 as some students decided not to proceed to college, defer their college place or not complete their studies. Of the 100,826 applications processed to date this year, 77,710 have been assessed as eligible for grant support. This figure is likely to increase as some late applications are processed to conclusion.

My Department is satisfied that the €20 million in additional funding sought is in line with our expectations. As the Deputy knows, since the establishment of SUSI the Oireachtas has, on a number of occasions, increased its funding because it administers a demand-led scheme. The Oireachtas and the Government will continue to monitor the situation closely.

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