Pearse Doherty (Donegal South West, Sinn Fein)
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181. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will reconsider allowing documentation from the Department of Social Protection, showing that a social welfare inspector accepts that a person resides independently, for purposes of proving a person (details supplied) in County Donegal qualifies for a student grant; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17091/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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As part of a comprehensive customer service and communications strategy provided by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI), to ensure that all necessary avenues are open to applicants to receive the information they need, a dedicated email and phone line service is provided by SUSI for Oireachtas members. This was established to meet an identified need for applicants who choose to engage the assistance of their public representatives in making enquiries about their grant applications.

This service compliments the established channels provided by SUSI which include online application tracking, a dedicated website, a telephone helpdesk, email and social media, including Facebook and Twitter.

Enquiries may be emailed direct to SUSI at oireachtas@susi.ie. SUSI are responding to email queries within a matter of days.

If an individual applicant considers that she/he has been unjustly refused a student grant, or that the rate of grant awarded is not the correct one, she/he may appeal, in the first instance, to SUSI.

Where an individual applicant has had an appeal turned down in writing by SUSI and remains of the view that the scheme has not been interpreted correctly in his/her case, an appeal form outlining the position may be submitted by the applicant to the independent Student Grants Appeals Board.

Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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182. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will clarify if the three year residence requirement for student grant assessments for Irish citizens begins immediately before the course begins or in the January of the year preceding the course. [17102/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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Section 14 of the Student Support Act 2011 provides that the 3 out of 5 years residency requirement is satisfied on the day before the "relevant date". The Act defines "relevant date" as the date on which a year of study commences on an approved course.

Therefore, the required period of residency must be satisfied on the day before the first day of an approved course year.