Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

79. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to review the requirements from SUSI for grant allocation particularly for those students that do not qualify due to their address being marginally outside the agreed set SUSI distance boundaries and therefore do not meet the requirements. [49534/18]

Joe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The student maintenance grant is a contribution towards the living costs of a student.  It is not intended to cover the full costs of attending college. 

Budget 2011 provided for a number of student grant measures which came into effect for the 2011/12 academic year, including the change in the assessment of the qualifying distance criterion for the non-adjacent rate of grant from 24 kilometres to 45 kilometres.

The 24km distance criterion was originally set in 1968 and had not been updated in more than 40 years. Since then, significant improvements have taken place in the road and rail network and it is considered that the revised distance criteria is more consistent with the type of distances that students may legitimately be expected to commute to college.

The current qualifying distance of 45km for the higher non-adjacent rate of student grant takes into account a reasonable radius within which students may commute on a daily basis.

There are no plans at present to change the current arrangements. Students in third-level institutions experiencing exceptional financial need can apply for support under the Student Assistance Fund. This Fund assists students, in a sensitive and compassionate manner, who might otherwise be unable to continue their third level studies due to their financial circumstances. Information on the fund is available through the Access Officer in the third level institution attended. This fund is administered on a confidential, discretionary basis.