Mark Daly (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the Minister, Deputy Harris, for coming into the House today to take this important Commencement matter, which has been raised by Senator Maria Byrne.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister for coming here today to discuss this all-important topic. I met recently with representatives from Young Carers Ireland. This is an issue that certainly impedes them. They are on social welfare and alongside their carer's payment, they are allowed to work 18.5 hours per week and study part-time. They are not entitled to the SUSI grant on the other side, however. They carry out very beneficial work in terms of caring, perhaps for vulnerable parents or siblings. To listen to them, it is certainly something that really impacts them.

Then, on the other hand, a widow with a young family got in touch with me. I know the same family spoke to the Minister when I hosted an online meeting to do with further education a couple of months ago. In this case, it is a young family in which the mother is widowed. The child in question is studying for a masters degree but because this person has mental health issues and autism, it has been suggested by the university that while this student is highly intelligent, a part-time course would suit them better. This student equally is not entitled to the SUSI grant. There is also the fact that, we will say, the student is not working either because all their time is given to study and achieving because this person is a very high achiever and wants to do well. This student is not working and yet cannot avail of the SUSI grant. The parent who is supporting this student is only working part-time. These are really just two examples as to what young people are facing in terms of SUSI.

I really believe that the SUSI grant should be reformed and I think it is something that maybe the Minister also supports in terms of changes that need to be made. If Covid-19 taught us anything, it is that so many people had to move to online. Speaking to both the young carers and this other family, certainly, they found it more difficult because they were online and then had no support with the pressure of having to pay their college fees. The young carers were literally using what they were getting in terms of caring to pay for their college course, and that is not right either. It is something about which I feel really strongly. There are many more people in this situation. I am just using these two examples to highlight the plight of what people are going through and the pressures they are under.

It is pressure enough when people are studying and have examinations coming up and especially if they are doing a masters degree or PhD. There is an awful lot of pressure and time commitment and then they have the pressure of knowing they must come up with their fees for college and different payments that are due at the other side. I look forward to hearing the Minister's response.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank my colleague, Senator Maria Byrne, very much for raising this important matter and, indeed, for her ongoing interest and work in the whole area of further and higher education.

I enjoyed our recent visit to County Limerick and we are going to make progress on many issues, including the library in Mary Immaculate College. I look forward to coming back on that. I also enjoyed attending her online meeting during which I had a chance to engage with students and parents, including the family she mentioned with regard to the need to reform SUSI.We are going to reform SUSI because we commissioned under the programme for Government a full review of the SUSI student grants scheme. That review has now been published. That was done after I brought it to Government and on the same day we published the sustainable funding model for higher education, so the Senator's raising this important matter is timely.

I launched the review of the student grants scheme on 4 May. I am committed to implementing the recommendations in the context of the annual Estimates process. The review raised, as the Senator rightly said, the issue of flexible learning. It cited something we all know to be true but it is good to have it backed up by the report, namely, that many individuals, particularly perhaps those from lower-income backgrounds, disadvantaged groups, or those with a disability may find it more accessible to access their education in a part-time manner. This might also apply to a mature student or somebody looking to reskill or upskill while holding down a job. It is true that at the moment you cannot access the SUSI student grant scheme for part-time education. It is a finding of the review that we need to make it available for part-time students and this is something we will now work to progress. I need to be honest that there is a little bit of work to do around this. What defines part-time? We need to be quite clear on that in setting out the criteria. In addition to that, we will also be bringing the new national access plan to Government, probably at the end of this month. This plan will look at how we can ensure more students from a whole variety of backgrounds, including students with a disability, can access education. Again, that will be an opportunity for us to consider it in that context.

To be helpful, I want to refer to three things that might be of assistance because the Senator referenced the issue of young carers. If I can take that issue even more broadly, she mentioned that these people might be working for a period of time and perhaps because of that they do not qualify for SUSI. We had a debate in this House very recently on the need to increase the income disregard. A student is allowed earn €4,500 and have it not counted towards their income for the purpose of SUSI. That is too low. It is particularly so in the context of the cost-of-living crisis and inflation. I am happy to inform the Senator and the House that I intend to seek Government approval to increase that limit in the first instance. That will be step 1. Step 2 is that I would also like to see that limit be allowed apply during term time as well. That would definitely benefit the young carers she references.

The Senator mentioned a student with autism. While I am committed to ensuring we reform SUSI, I am conscious this is happening in real time for people and the supports available today are two schemes that provide financial assistance to part-time students. One is the fund for students with disability. This is open, as I said, to part-time students up to level 10, or doctoral level, and can provide funding to support and accommodate a student with assistive technology, personal assistance, academic or learning support or transport support. That is one fund available. The second is the student assistance fund. As a Government, we put €18.5 million into that. That is also available for students in part-time education, including masters students. That can be used to assist people with financial difficulties while attending third level. It can be used for rent, childcare costs, transport costs, books and class materials, food, etc. There is a list of criteria. I say that to outline what could be of immediate assistance, while fully accepting we need to reform SUSI, that we will do so and that part-time is a big part of this as is the income disregard.

Maria Byrne (Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minster so much for his commitment. Since he came to the Department, it is an area he has a keen interest in. I thank him and his staff for the work they are doing in this area. I welcome the fact he is going to reform it. Returning to the situation with young carers, it is unfortunate. I am aware they will be able to increase their amount money or that the Minister will be bringing forward a proposal on the amount they can earn but the fact it is part-time is the key point here. Whether it is the student with a disability or a young carer it is about the fact it is part-time. That is where we need to put our focus. I believe the Minister will focus on that whole part-time aspect. I look forward to working with him on it and thank him for highlighting the two schemes currently available.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator and assure her I will work closely with her on this. I highlight the two schemes in existence not to suggest they are perfect or an alternative to reform but just to put that information out there for anyone following this debate as avenues that might be of assistance to a student with disability or students more generally in terms of the student assistance fund, because they are available to part-time students. However, I take the point. More and more, we are going to see people of all ages wanting to access education in a flexible, agile way. The Senator quite correctly referenced the Covid pandemic in the context of how we saw people then accessing education in hybrid manner online. Beyond students with a disability and young carers, there is going to be a huge need from mature students and people going back to education. We cannot on the one hand say go back and do part-time education as it is a great way to do it and on the other hand have Government schemes that do not support it. Thus, this is a huge body of work we are committed to doing. It is a policy priority for me and my Department. The pace at which we can introduce it is a matter for the normal Estimates process but I will keep in very close contact with the Senator on it.