Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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1354. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the date on which she will introduce legislation to ensure that students in the asylum process are able to avail of higher education grants and are charged the same fees as Irish citizens. [33860/14]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Under the terms of the Department of Education and Skill's Student Grant Scheme, grant assistance is awarded to students who meet the prescribed conditions of funding including those relating to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means. The nationality/immigration status requirements for the student grant scheme are set out in section 14 of the Student Support Act 2011 and regulation 5 of the Student Support Regulations 2014.

While persons with refugee status meet the nationality/immigration status requirement of the scheme, persons who are in the asylum process and are awaiting decisions in relation to their applications for refugee status are ineligible under the nationality requirement.

Article 32 of the Student Grant Scheme 2014 provides for the review of eligibility for the award of grant assistance in the event of changes of circumstances in the academic year, including a change in relation to a student's nationality or immigration status. This means that where a person in the asylum process is declared a refugee during the course of their studies, he/she may apply to SUSI to have his/her application re-assessed. Any award the applicant may be eligible for as a result of a change in their immigration status will take effect from the date on which the change occurs.

Under the terms of the Department of Education and Skills, Free Fees Schemes students must hold, inter alia, EU/EEA/Swiss nationality in their own right, and have been ordinarily resident in an EU/EEA/Swiss state for at least three of the five years preceding their entry to an approved third level course. Persons with official refugee status in the state may also meet the nationality clause of the schemes. Persons in the asylum process are not entitled to free fees, however time spent from date of official lodgement of application papers for refugee status will be included for the purpose of meeting the three year residency requirement.

Persons in the asylum process who are declared a refugee during the course of their studies may be entitled to free tuition fees for the remainder of their course of study as follows:

- Students who acquire refugee status up to 31st January in an academic year may be entitled to free tuition from the second half of the academic year.

- Students who acquire refugee status from 1st February may be entitled to free tuition fees from the commencement of the next academic year.

My Department will be involved in an independent Working Group which will report to Government on improvements with the protection process, including Direct Provision and supports for asylum seekers.