Marc MacSharry (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
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197. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the accuracy of using an application and Eircodes as the measurement benchmark for assessing eligibility for the non-adjacent rate of student maintenance grant in which the practical evidence of a clocked drive of the distance proves that the measurements by the application using Eircodes to be inaccurate (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41764/18]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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The student to which the Deputy refers was assessed under the terms of the 2017 Student Grant Scheme. As per Article 27 (3) of the 2017 Scheme, maintenance grants are payable at either the adjacent or non-adjacent rate. The Awarding Authority determines the rate applicable in respect of an eligible student in line with the Scheme and the accompanying Department of Education and Skills Guidelines.

The adjacent rates of maintenance grant is payable in the case of students whose normal residence is 45km or less from the approved institution which he or she is attending, where the distance is measured as the shortest non-tolled direct route from the student’s residence to the institution. The non-adjacent rate of maintenance grant is payable in all other cases.

In the assessment of the application from the student in question, the awarding authority assessed the distance from her normal residence to the relevant higher education institution as under 45km and awarded the applicant the special rate of maintenance grant (adjacent rate).

The student appealed the decision to the SUSI appeals officer and subsequently to the statutorily independent Student Grants Appeals Board who both upheld the decision of the awarding authority. The student has exhausted the appeals process provided for in the Student Support Act 2011.

On a general point, the student grant scheme is published annually and the terms of each scheme, including enhancements which improve the efficiency of the scheme in terms of accuracy and reduced processing times, can change over time. While some students who were assessed under older schemes may have benefitted from the application of rules that applied at a particular point in time, this should not been seen as an indicator that similar outcomes will be arrived at for students assessed under more recent schemes.