Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 19:

In page 9, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following:"9. The Student Support Act 2011 is amended, in section 16(3), by the substitution of the following paragraph for paragraph (d)—

"(d) whether he or she has been or is self supporting having regard to information provided by bodies including but not limited to GPs, student support organisations, student unions, welfare officers, non-HSE employed social workers or non HSE employed family support workers, LGBT advocacy workers, and youth advocacy workers, as well as information provided by other government departments and statutory bodies that demonstrates evidence of self-support, or affidavits provided by the student.".

The purpose of the amendment is to address anomalies in the SUSI grant legislation. Students aged under 23 are assessed on their parents' incomes, and can be assessed on their own incomes only if they can prove they are estranged from their parents. The only proof of estrangement SUSI will accept is verification from a HSE social worker or family support worker, FSW. This is problematic because HSE social workers and FSWs will not assess people aged over 18. Therefore, there is no route to verify estrangement from one's parents if it took place when one was over the age of 18.
My colleague, Deputy O’Brien, has continuously raised the issue but it has not yet been rectified. It leaves very vulnerable students in a precarious situation and has forced some to leave their courses if their parents do not co-operate with grant applications, given that SUSI is rigid in its application processing and vehemently sticks to its guidelines. It is a difficult situation when a Department such as the Department of Social Protection will accept that a person resides in a particular place for the purpose of social welfare claim but not for a student grant. The purpose of the amendment is to expand the range of information that is acceptable to verify a claim of estrangement for the purposes of a student grant.