Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Ceann Comhairle for allowing me to raise this issue and I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Cannon. I wish to discuss the new online grant application system and, in particular, the website grantsonline.ie. The issue relates specifically to self-employed parents who have had difficulties when using this new website. When parents get to the stage of the online process which asks for their income for 2011, those who are self-employed are having a problem. The website asks self-employed people to submit an income for 2011 but it gives them no option to input details for 2010, the most recent tax year for which they have fully accounted. For PAYE workers the most recent completed taxes are for 2011 but for self-employed people, their most fully completed taxes are for 2010. Self-employed people who, for tax purposes, operate under the system of self-assessment are not required to submit their 2011 tax returns until 31 October of this year.

As the Minister of State knows, for self-employed people, the system of higher education grant applications was always based on the most recent set of accounts and on the most recent tax return. Basing the system on the most recent tax return was a fair and equitable system and ensured the income figures were accurate and were accurately reported. I have been contacted by many parents who do not know what to do. They are unsure what figures they should give.

I am aware there is a support desk in place which allows people to make contact if they are having problems. However, as the Minister of State knows, this support system, which can be contacted by telephone or e-mail, does not necessarily give the answer for which parents are looking. While the support desk is very welcome, the advice being given needs to be clarified for the parents in question. In one case, a parent telephoned the helpline only to be told this is how the new system operates and that he or she should put in an estimate for his or her self-employed income for 2011. To me and many others like me, this is unacceptable. The system of grant applications must be fair and based on actual income which can be verified by means of documentation from Revenue. Any other system would be unfair and would lead to further complications.

To be fair to all applicants, the system should be open and transparent, and every applicant should be treated equitably and fairly. The only fair way to assess income is based on verified tax returns or audited accounts. If any other method of declaring income is used, it could be open to exploitation. This problem is more than likely an anomaly on the website, and I hope the Minister of State can rectify it. I believe it can be rectified easily.

The Department of Education and Skills has made significant and welcome changes to the grant application process. It has been standardised and now involves a streamlined, easily accessed system. Instead of having 66 awarding authorities, we now have one body, SUSI. Every grant applicant can now apply online. This is to be commended and welcomed.

This week is the last week of the leaving certificate examinations. As students complete their exams, they look forward to a universal system under which they need not worry about having to engage in a convoluted process of applying for higher education grants.

It is vital that we learn from the mistakes associated with the medical card process. We saw what happened after the streamlining. It is vital that the grant application system does not make the application procedure more difficult. As with all changes, evolution is required, but I hope the new online system will take on board feedback. I look forward to the Minister of State's reply.

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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I am responding on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Quinn. I thank Deputy Buttimer for raising this important matter.

I am pleased to inform the House that the Department of Education and Skills funds a student grant scheme for third level and further education students. Under the terms of the student grant scheme, grant assistance is awarded to students who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those which relate to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means.

The 2012student grant scheme regulations were issued to coincide with the new universal online grant application system, which went live on 11 June. Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, which has been established as a unit of the City of Dublin Vocational Education Committee, has commenced operation for all new grant applicants for the 2012-13 academic year, and all of the applications are being made online. This new application process is applicant-centred and aims to provide a more efficient service for the student. The existing 66 grant-awarding bodies will continue to deal with the renewal of applications for their existing grant holders for the duration of their current courses.

Articles 19 to 25 of Student Grant Scheme 2012 set out how reckonable income is to be assessed for the purpose of qualifying for a student grant. The means-test arrangements of the student grant scheme are applied nationally. In all cases, including in respect of both employed and self-employed applicants, gross income within a specified reference period is assessed with certain specified social welfare and HSE payments excluded.

Article 20(1) of Student Grant Scheme 2012 states the reference period within which reckonable income may be determined for an academic year shall be 1 January to 31 December of the relevant calendar year. For the academic year 2012-13, all income arising in the reference period 1 January 2011 to 31 December 2011 is assessed. Reckonable income limits are also based on this reference period. Article 20(2) of Student Grant Scheme 2012 provides that, where the business year differs from the reference period, the income shown in the business accounts for a year that ends between 1 January and 31 December of the relevant year will be considered.

The assessment of means under my Department's student grant scheme is based on gross income from all sources within the reference period. Therefore, all income is assessed from the same starting point, eliminating any distortion that might arise from different spending decisions. The income taken into account is gross income before any deductions for PAYE, income tax, capital gains tax, capital acquisitions tax, PRSI and the income levy.

I am sure the Deputy will agree it is necessary to assess all applications for support on a consistent basis from the same starting point, be the applicants employed or self-employed.

Jerry Buttimer (Cork South Central, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I hope there will not be difficulties such as the one that arose in the medical-card streamlining process. There have been teething difficulties with the grant application process. I have listened to and read the Minister of State's reply.

I hope applicants will be communicated with. I fully support what the Department is doing and I hope the Minister of State and Minister interpret my remarks as constructive. What we are doing is positive and the process should be simple and straightforward. I hope we communicate the content of the Minister of State's reply today, but not just through social media and online. We must disseminate the information proactively, avoid confusion and make the process simple.

We have done a great job in changing the system and I hope it will not be difficult, complicated, cumbersome or confusing. We want to achieve the opposite. I hope the process we have set up will achieve this but I have a small worry that it will not. As the Minister of State knows, some 41% of undergraduate students who receive a grant have the student contribution paid for them by the State. This comprises a vast and significant number of people who will use the website. It must be made clear to them what is at stake. There ought to be confidence in the system and it ought to be easy to use. The Department has a mentoring network in place across the country and I hope it will work.

Ciarán Cannon (Galway East, Fine Gael)
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I agree wholeheartedly with all the comments of Deputy Buttimer. It is in all our interests, particularly those of young people, that the new service operates as effectively and efficiently as possible. The customer experience will be monitored closely and we will work hard to ensure consistent customer service. People ought to feel they are being treated fairly and equitably. I am confident the lessons learned from other systems, which might not have operated as effectively and efficiently as they should have done, will be taken on board in rolling out the grant application service across the country.