John Brassil (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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97. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will review the system for means assessing income for the SUSI grant to allow for net income instead of gross income to be assessed, as families are struggling to meet the rising costs of education, especially families where there are multiple children in third level education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33883/16]

John Brassil (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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98. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will consider removing the universal social charge from the means test for the SUSI grant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33895/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 97 and 98 together.

The means test arrangements of the Student Grant Scheme are applied nationally on the same basis to both employed and self-employed applicants. Gross income before the deduction of income tax or the universal social charge, is assessed with certain specified social welfare and health service executive payments excluded.

The assessment of income from the same starting point is deemed to be fair and reasonable because this approach eliminates any distortion which might arise from different spending decisions in different households.

The Student Grant Scheme provides for different levels of income thresholds where families have (i) less than 4 dependent children (ii) between 4 and 7 dependent children and (iii) 8 or more dependent children. In recognition of the additional cost to families where more than one person is attending college, income thresholds may also be increased by up to €4,830 for each additional family member attending college at the same time. In this way, the Student Grant Scheme is responsive to the individual circumstances of particular families.

Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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99. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of students that have been refused a SUSI grant due to the fact they could not comply with the rigid requirement for specific documentation in relation to proof of address and, more particularly, in relation to those students who live with a relative and-or a friend and do not have utility bills but notwithstanding that it is their home and their address for social protection payments; the number of appeals that have been made arising from these circumstances and the number that were successful; the number of appeals that have been made to the Student Grant Appeal Board and the number that were successful; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33897/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Very significant numbers of third-level students move out of home to go to college and continue to be supported by their parents while in full-time education. Confirmation that a student is living separately from his/her parents is, of itself, not sufficient to establish independent status.  When considering whether a student meets the conditions to be assessed independently of his or her parents, grant awarding authorities are obliged to satisfy themselves beyond doubt, that an acceptable degree of proof of independent living in the relevant period has been submitted by the grant applicant.

The onus is on the grant applicant to provide the necessary documentary evidence as requested by the relevant grant awarding authority. In this regard, a grant awarding authority will seek to assist students in identifying relevant documentation.

Appeals to both the awarding authority and the Student Grants Appeals Board can comprise of a number of issues in addition to student classification as independent/dependent.  As such, it is not possible to provide data in respect of the particular queries requested by the Deputy. However, if the Deputy has a specific query in respect of a constituent then an enquiry can be e-mailed direct to SUSI at oireachtas@susi.ie. This dedicated e-mail service is provided by SUSI to Oireachtas members to ensure that all necessary avenues are open to applicants to receive the information they need. Staff in SUSI are responding to email queries within a matter of days.