Written answers

Tuesday, 22 January 2019

Department of Education and Skills

Student Grant Scheme Eligibility

Photo of Willie O'DeaWillie O'Dea (Limerick City, Fianna Fail)
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177. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a widow's pension and qualified child increase are included as means in determining their child’s entitlement to the SUSI grant; if maintenance payments are included as means in determining eligibility for the SUSI grant in the case of lone parents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [2530/19]

Photo of Joe McHughJoe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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The Student Grant Scheme, administered by SUSI, provides maintenance grants to students who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those relating to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means.

Widows’ /Widower’s pension is included as reckonable income for the purposes of the student grant means test.

Widow's/Widower's pension is also a qualifying payment for the special rate of grant where the reckonable income is less than €23,500. Where the pension includes a CDA (child dependent allowance) the CDA element may be deducted from the payment for the purposes of qualifying for the special rate of grant and determining total reckonable income.

Maintenance payments are included as reckonable income for student grant purposes. However, the income limits for grant eligibility are increased relative to the number of students in a family applying for a grant.

If an individual applicant considers that she/he has been unjustly refused a student grant on the grounds of his/her initial classification as an independent or dependent student, she/he may appeal, in the first instance, to SUSI. Where an individual applicant has had an appeal turned down in writing by SUSI and remains of the view that the scheme has not been interpreted correctly in his/her case, an appeal, outlining the position may be submitted by the applicant to the independent Student Grants Appeals Board at within the required timeframe.

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