Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I am delighted this Topical Issue is being taken. There is an inherent unfairness in the operation of the Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, higher education grant scheme in respect of certain citizens, and I ask that it be put right. Irish citizens who have been resident in this jurisdiction but leave to work as volunteers overseas, doing charitable development work for a number of years in some of the world’s least developed and poorest countries, who then wish to continue their education in Ireland, may be considered ineligible for a student grant solely because they do not meet the residency conditions under SUSI, which require them to have been resident in the State for at least three years out of the five-year period ending on the day before they start their approved course of study. I refer to cases in which these erstwhile volunteers do not have the financial means and cannot afford to pay for fees and maintenance at third level. Interestingly, had they stayed at home and been in receipt of social welfare for the three years, they would have qualified for a SUSI grant.

To volunteer in this manner is a response to a noble call. While the experience is uplifting, personal sacrifice is required from the volunteers, as they give their time, knowledge and skills to empower and improve the lives of others and help in a practical way to counter some of the inequalities and hardships experienced by others just because of where on this planet they were born. These individuals should be supported by the State, not disenfranchised. The work of these volunteers, including emergency humanitarian action, is crucial to ensure the delivery of the Irish aid programme in various parts of the developing world. Delivering change for the better is one of the central priorities of Ireland’s foreign policy, and their work contributes to it. The 2016 budget has confirmed a commitment of €640 million for official development assistance, such is our commitment to overseas development.

In 2013, the Government, as part of its commitment to volunteering, launched the Irish Aid volunteering initiative, which recognised the major contribution Irish volunteers have long made. The aim of the initiative is to strengthen support for overseas volunteering from the time when a person first considers going to when he or she returns home. The SUSI criteria which can see these volunteers deemed ineligible for higher education grants offends all the recognition and support that Government foreign policy strives to provide for them. Previously, an exemption from the residency clause had applied to overseas aid workers, which allowed them to qualify once they had passed the means test. This must be provided again. In September, the Minister, responding to an unfair discrimination which particularly affected youngsters in direct provision accommodation, extended the SUSI grant scheme to allow them to go to college.

I ask the Minister of State, Deputy English, to work with the Ministers for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Education and Skills to extend fair play to our overseas volunteers immediately. Although they are very few, it is unfair that after they have spent many years abroad doing voluntary service without making money by any standard, they find themselves disqualified on account of the fact that they have not been resident in recent years, especially given that we are telling them to go abroad. Something needs to be done.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for raising this matter. The student grant scheme will benefit some 80,000 students in the 2015-2016 academic year at a cost of approximately €350 million. In order to qualify for supports under the scheme, students have to meet a number of eligibility requirements, which are outlined in the Student Grant Scheme 2015. One of these requirements is the residency requirement, with which the Deputy has difficulty.

The residency requirement provides that a student, as defined in section 14 of the Student Support Act 2011, must demonstrate that he or she has been resident in the State for at least three years out of the five-year period ending on the day before the start of his or her approved course of study. Students must meet this criterion in order to be considered eligible for a maintenance grant. The rationale for the inclusion of a residency requirement in the student grant scheme is to ensure that those applying for a maintenance grant will have an established linkage with and be integrated into the State. This is a concept that is accepted across the EU. The residency requirement is also designed to obviate the risk of so-called grant tourism and prevent any abuse of the student grant scheme. There is, therefore, a very clear and robust rationale for including a residency requirement as part of the student grant scheme.

The Minister, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, is satisfied that the existing residency requirement contains sufficient flexibility to ensure it does not have an adverse impact on students. A student can meet the residency requirement if he or she has not been outside the State for more than two of the previous five years. This takes cognisance of students who may wish to take time out to travel or work outside the State, including in a voluntary capacity as in the case mentioned by Deputy Mulherin. It is important to note that students who do not meet the residency requirement at the outset of their studies have an opportunity to qualify for a maintenance grant if they meet the residency requirement during the course of their studies.

In many respects, the requirements of this country's student grant scheme are more flexible than those of the schemes in other EU countries. To be eligible for support in Northern Ireland, a student must be resident in the UK, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man for the three years immediately before he or she starts his or her course. A similar provision applies in Scotland and England. Access to student supports is even more restrictive in other parts of the EU. In Denmark, for example, an applicant for state education support must have resided in that country for a continuous period of at least five years. In light of the importance of a robust residency requirement as a precondition for accessing student supports, and the fact that the student grant scheme already provides a considerable degree of flexibility for students, it is not the Minister's intention to change the relevant criteria at this time. I know the Deputy has raised some specific issues, but the view is that the five-year rule allows for enough room for people to be able to manage these matters as well as possible.

Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I disagree totally with what the Minister of State has said. This issue was brought to my attention by an individual who is affected by it. The person in question, who has been doing excellent voluntary aid work with the likes of Médecins Sans Frontières in Africa and Afghanistan, wants to come back to Ireland to further their education in the field of overseas aid and development, but is unable to do so. This individual has no money and is trying to rely on the help of various family members. The current absurd approach runs contrary to this country's foreign policy and is incompatible with the esteem that has been afforded to volunteers, particularly by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through the Irish Aid volunteering initiative, which I mentioned. All of this means nothing if the various Departments do not talk to each other. It has been suggested that if we make the change I am proposing, people will shop around as part of what has been described as "grant tourism", but surely we can verify whether someone has been working for a non-governmental organisation overseas, having previously lived here. Any time one travels to work in one of these countries, it is all very well documented. It seems to me that there would be no abuse of the approach I am proposing because the circumstances of voluntary work overseas lend themselves to standing up to scrutiny. Such an approach would still allow our talented young people, who have enjoyed many privileges while living here, to give something back by going to these countries. I remind the House that their efforts are not an incidental part of the delivery of this country's aid programme. There seems to be no recognition of the crucial role they play.

On the question of showing flexibility to students, I reiterate that no flexibility is being shown in the case I have highlighted. This person has been left high and dry. I have referred to the Minister's enlightened decision to open the higher education grant scheme to youngsters living in direct provision who have been through our education system but whose residency and citizenship status is in limbo. I agree that these young people need to be looked after, but why can we not look after our own people in the circumstances I have outlined? The change I am recommending would not affect thousands and thousands of people. I remind the Minister of State that a means test is required in these cases. Anyone who is paid a salary for working for an Irish aid organisation overseas will obviously have that money in the bank when they come back. I am talking about volunteers, however. Can we not do something better for them? I find the Minister of State's response very unsatisfactory. I have written to the Minister on this issue. I cannot change my view on account of anything the Minister of State has said. These are real cases involving real people. We should not discourage them from doing a very worthwhile thing on behalf of this country in order to improve the circumstances of people in other parts of the world.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I want to make it clear that I was not trying to change the Deputy's view. I completely understand and empathise with the circumstances of the case she has raised. We try to encourage people to do voluntary work when they have time to do so, as many people have had in recent years. The difficulty is that there is no discretion with the residency requirement. The Student Support Act 2011 makes no provision for any exemptions in the cases of those who do not meet the residency requirements. Those requirements apply equally to everyone in respect of their individual circumstances. That has to be the case. The requirements of most of the schemes we operate have to be applied equally across the board. Regardless of whether one was working abroad, one was overseas as a volunteer or one does not meet the requirements because one was in some other scenario, those requirements have to be applied equally. I remind the Deputy that in recognition of people's movements in recent years, the rules were changed in the 2010-11 student year. Under the previous scheme, one needed to have been resident in Ireland for the year prior to one's application to go to college to do a course. Now that the rules have been changed to make the scheme more flexible, one needs to have been resident here for two of the previous five years. I think the rules were changed to allow for certain scenarios. There will always be cases in which people do not meet the criteria. These things are always under review. There is no scope for flexibility under the current guidelines or regulations. New legislation would be needed to-----

Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I think that is what we require.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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That is a debate we can continue to have. While I acknowledge the case the Deputy is making, I do not think she can say there is no reason for the current approach. I think she will accept that all our schemes need to have criteria. She mentioned the changes that were made to facilitate asylum seekers. The condition that applies to them is that they must have been resident in the State for the previous five years. It is even more strict. It is not the case that an easier set of rules applies to asylum seekers. They are now allowed to apply if they have been here for five years. That was announced in August.

Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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They had it before, so there has been a derogation from what was in place previously.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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There has been a change.

Michelle Mulherin (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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There has.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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It is a new pilot scheme. I think most people welcome the new rule. To be clear, they have to be resident for a full five years whereas an Irish or EU citizen has to be resident for just three of the preceding five years.