Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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166. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will address an anomaly in the SUSI third-level grant process (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38327/18]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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To satisfy the terms and conditions of the student grant scheme in relation to progression, a student must be moving from year to year within a course, having successfully completed the previous year or be transferring from one course to another, where the award for the subsequent course is of a higher level than the previous course. If an applicant holds a qualification at any level and wishes to pursue another qualification at the same level, the second qualification is ineligible for funding as per the Student Grant Scheme.

The objective of this policy is to help as many students as possible to obtain one qualification at each level of study. This is necessary given the level of demand on the student grant budget from first time students and students who are progressing with their studies to a higher level.

It is not possible to examine the particular circumstances of the case, based on the information supplied by the Deputy. However, if the Deputy is in a position to provide information in relation to a specific case I will investigate the matter further with SUSI.