Written answers
Tuesday, 11 July 2017
Department of Education and Skills
Student Grant Scheme Administration
Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly, Fine Gael)
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206. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason students enrolled in third level courses that are dependent on their parents for financial support may only have income earned during holiday periods disallowed for assessment of total family income under SUSI grant applications; the reason income earned by students during term time is disallowed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32164/17]
Mary Mitchell O'Connor (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael)
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The assessment of means under my Department's student grant scheme is based on gross income from all sources, with certain social welfare and health service executive payments being exempt.
In the assessment of means, a deduction can be made for holiday earnings made by the applicant from employment outside of term time but within the reference period. I increased the value of this income disregard from €3,809 to €4,500 in the 2016 scheme.
The student grant scheme contains a number of qualifying thresholds for various grant values. These gradations allow students just over a threshold margin, to remain in receipt of a grant, albeit at a reduced rate that reflects their relative income vis-à-vis other applicants.
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