Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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144. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of students who have applied for emergency funding from the student assistance fund since September 2012; and the way this compares with previous academic year. [2670/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The Student Assistance Fund is managed by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) on behalf of my Department. As administration of the fund is devolved to the individual higher education institutions, the HEA is not currently in a position to provide the data in the format requested by the Deputy.

However, a survey conducted by the HEA in November 2012 shows that the higher education sector is experiencing a two-thirds increase in demand for the Fund over last year.

In response to the increased demand, I approved an additional €3m to supplement the Fund, which was allocated in December 2012, bringing the total allocation for 2012-13 to €11m. The Fund is expected to assist in the region of 16,000 students this academic year.