Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

That is a fair question. At present, we are monitoring it on a weekly basis. The figure I gave the House of 28,500 applications having been assessed and 26,000 being deemed eligible is a very high rate of eligibility for SUSI so far which reflects the reality we will see this year that most households' incomes are gone down and not up. This idea - the Deputy is not putting it forward - that families will ultimately end up being better off overall because of being on social welfare for the year will not turn out to be the case. That is my gut feeling. It seems to be what the evidence is showing me so far. We monitor on a weekly basis. I remain willing at any point to engage further with Government colleagues if there is a need for additional resources to provide additional supports to students but my engagement with SUSI and my officials seems to suggest to me that the change-of-circumstance mechanism is the route we should try first. I will continue to watch this and I will keep in close contact with the Deputy and the House on it.

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