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

I appreciate that but we really need to make sure that SUSI is fit for purpose. I think we agree on that. At the moment, too few people have access to it. I welcome the announced increases to the income thresholds but we are obviously still waiting for them to come into effect. We could have worked on the maintenance grant. We did not have to wait until September to do that.

We need to increase the numbers getting access to the scheme rather than simply being a standstill measure to keep up with the limited wage growth that we have seen in recent years. The SUSI budget was substantially larger in 2015 than in 2020. Part-time students are offered no support. The Minister should be looking to extend student grants to part-time students even if it is just helping with fees. SUSI should cover the postgraduate fees as well. We also need to ensure that SUSI supports get to those who need them most. The burden of proof for lone parents is too high. We need to look specifically at the case of adults often with children of their own who need to move back in with their parents because of the housing crisis. There is a perfect storm for students and we need to get them out of it.

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