Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I have been informed by officials in my Department that an appeal from the student referred to by the Deputy was heard by the independent Student Grants Appeals Board on 29th April 2014 and that the original decision of the SUSI appeals officer was upheld.

In order to be assessed as an independent mature student an applicant must provide sufficient evidence to show that he/she was living independently of his/her parents from October of the year before the first point of entry to higher education. I understand that the student referred to by the Deputy returned to live with her parents in July 2012 and therefore for the academic year 2013/14, must be assessed as a student dependent on parents, in which case the income to be considered in determining eligibility is the income of the applicant and her parents.