John Kelly (Labour) | Oireachtas source

Last week I raised the issue of third level grants and SUSI's operations. We established that while 28% of grant applications had been processed and approved, only 5% had been paid. The position has changed slightly since last week's furore, although it remains to be seen whether matters have improved. Students who encounter problems with grant application approvals are sending documents to us in order that we can scan and forward them to SUSI while keeping a record of everything sent. SUSI is no longer accepting scanned material and is instead asking us to post documents to P.O. Box 12210 in order that they can be scanned and forwarded for processing. I contacted several VECs and county councils this morning. This time last year councils and VECs had paid 90% of grants, compared to a figure of 5% as of last week. Council staff have been reduced to providing a counselling service for distraught mothers and fathers who enjoy no success with SUSI. I ask the Acting Leader to use her good offices to find out by this time next week the exact percentage of grants that have been paid or approved.