Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Would the situation of this mother be considered a change of circumstances? She has three boys on the pandemic unemployment payment who are still in college and living at home. They are in Maynooth, Dublin and Sligo. If the pandemic unemployment payment is not disregarded it will push her over the threshold and she will not be able to take out a loan for €30,000 to pay for their fees and accommodation. We must also remember that an awful lot of students have lost money due to accommodation. Will this be taken into consideration when applying to SUSI? I spoke to a mother yesterday who paid €4,500 for absolutely nothing with regard to accommodation. Will there be flexibility? If the Minister were to give flexibility to SUSI to be able to respond to these cases, we would be able to ensure the barriers preventing access to further education were removed.

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