John Lahart (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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124. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he is will develop a scheme to encourage Irish persons living abroad to return here and return to education; if he is aware that the current Student Universal Support Ireland criteria excludes Irish citizens who have being living abroad for more than three of the previous five years on date of application; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22923/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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To be eligible for a grant, a "student", as defined in Section 14 of the Student Support Act 2011, must demonstrate that he/she has been resident in the State for at least 3 years out of the 5 year period ending on the day before the start of his/her approved course of study. The Free Fees Initiative (FFI) has a similar residency requirement.

This requirement takes cognisance of students who wish to take time out to travel or work abroad. However, for student grant purposes, it is possible for students who did not meet the residency requirement at the commencement of their studies, to have their eligibility reviewed if they meet the residency requirement during the course of their studies.

Similar and in some cases more restrictive residency requirements apply in other EU Member States.