Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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287. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide clear guidelines and documentation requirements to SUSI for those currently in direct provision applying for third level grants in order to prove their residency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [27244/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Under the terms of the 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.

In order to receive funding from SUSI, an applicant must be an Irish, EU/EEA or Swiss Federation national and have been resident in the state or the EU/EEA/Swiss Federation for three of the last five years. I understand that when SUSI requests documentary evidence, it notifies the applicant of the type of documents it requires to prove residency. Ultimately, the onus is on the applicant to submit appropriate corroborating documentary evidence to prove residency.

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.