Cathal Crowe (Clare, Fianna Fail)
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112. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if the means-testing criteria of the SUSI grant for third level education can be amended in order that in situations in which one parent is on a disability payment such as an invalidity pension the student is not losing out due to overall household income. [40617/20]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The principal support provided by the Department in financial terms is the Student Grant Scheme. Under the terms of the Scheme, grant assistance is awarded to students attending an approved course in an approved institution who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those relating to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means.

The decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter, in the first instance, for the centralised student grant awarding authority SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland) to determine.

The qualifying criteria for the special rate of maintenance grant is as follows:

(i) The student must qualify for the standard rate of grant (i.e. the 100% grant);

(ii) Total reckonable income, after income disregards and Child Dependant Increase(s) are excluded, must not exceed €24,500; and

(ii) As at 31st December 2019, the reckonable income must include one of the eligible long-term social welfare payments prescribed in the Student Grant Scheme.

The income threshold for the special rate of grant was increased from €24,000 to €24,500 for the 2020 Scheme, so as to ensure that students from families dependent on welfare will continue to be eligible for the special rate of grant. (This reflects the Budget 2019 increase to the maximum point of the weekly State Contributory Pension, plus maximum Qualified Adult Allowance for a person over 66 years).

Both Disability Allowance and Invalidity Pension are eligible payments for the purposes of qualifying for the special rate of grant.

For student grant purposes, Disability Allowance and Invalidity Pension are treated as reckonable income for the SUSI means assessment process in a similar fashion to other Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection payments such as Jobseekers Benefit/Allowance, thus ensuring a consistency of approach and an equitable treatment of students and their families in the SUSI means assessment process.

However, Disability Allowance, where it is paid to the applicant, is an income disregard for student grant purposes and is not included in the means test. This treatment, along with other provisions of the scheme, ensures that those students most in need receive supports commensurate with their needs.

If an individual applicant considers that she/he has been unjustly refused a student grant, or that the rate of grant awarded is not the correct one, she/he may appeal, in the first instance, to SUSI.

Where an individual applicant has had an appeal turned down in writing by an appeals officer in SUSI and remains of the view that the scheme has not been interpreted correctly in his/her case, an appeal may be submitted to the independent Student Grants Appeals Board within the required timeframe (i.e. not later than 30 days after the notification of the determination of the appeals officer to the applicant). Such appeals can be made by the appellant on line via www.studentgrantappeals.ie.

I also think it is important for students to be aware of the other supports available to them, particularly the Student Assistance Fund which 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.

Éamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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113. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if income from the pandemic unemployment payment is assessible for the purposes of means assessment for SUSI grants in 2020 in which a student seeks a review of their application based on change of circumstances; if the student grant scheme regulations provides for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40706/20]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Under the Student Grant Scheme, grant assistance is available to eligible students attending an approved course in an approved institution who meet the terms and conditions of funding, including those relating to residency, means, nationality and previous academic attainment.

The decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter, in the first instance, for the centralised grant awarding authority SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland) to determine. For the 2020/21 academic year, student grant applications will be assessed based on gross income from all sources for the period 1st January 2019 to 31st December 2019.

Article 22(3)(b) of the Student Grant Scheme 2020 states that income from all sources, including social welfare payments, is considered in determining student grant eligibility. Article 22(4) then goes on to list certain "income disregards" which are not included in the calculation of reckonable income.

The Social Welfare (Covid-19) (Amendment) Act 2020 establishes the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment as a social insurance benefit scheme separate from other social protection statutory schemes including the Supplementary Welfare Allowance and Jobseeker Allowance and Jobseeker Benefit schemes.

For student grant purposes, the Covid-19 payment has been treated as reckonable income for the SUSI means assessment process since it was introduced in March. This means that the Covid-19 payment is treated in a similar fashion to other Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection payments such as Jobseekers Benefit/Allowance, thus ensuring a consistency of approach and an equitable treatment of students and their families in the SUSI means assessment process.

All applications are assessed nationally with reference to the terms and conditions of the relevant student grant scheme. The terms and conditions of funding are applied impartially to all applicants.

However, if a student or party to their application experiences a change in circumstances that is not a temporary change and is likely to continue for the foreseeable future, they can apply to have their application assessed under the change in circumstances provision of the relevant Student Grant Scheme. The income of all parties to the application will be assessed or reassessed on the current year (2020) and they may also be asked to provide evidence of the current year’s (2020) income.

If an individual applicant considers that she/he has been unjustly refused a student grant, or that the rate of grant awarded is not the correct one, she/he may appeal, in the first instance, to SUSI.

Where an individual applicant has had an appeal turned down in writing by an appeals officer in SUSI and remains of the view that the scheme has not been interpreted correctly in his/her case, an appeal may be submitted to the independent Student Grants Appeals Board within the required timeframe (i.e. not later than 30 days after the notification of the determination of the appeals officer to the applicant). Such appeals can be made by the appellant on line via www.studentgrantappeals.ie.

Apart from the Student Grant Scheme, students can apply for supports under the Student Assistance Fund. The 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. Institutions have the autonomy to maximise the flexibility in the Student Assistance Fund to enable HEIs to support students during the Covid-19 pandemic. Details of this fund are available from the Access Office in the higher education institution attended. This fund is administered on a confidential, discretionary basis.

In addition, tax relief at the standard rate of tax may be claimed in respect of tuition fees paid for approved courses at approved colleges of higher education including approved undergraduate and postgraduate courses in EU Member States and in non-EU countries. Further information on this tax relief is available from a student's local Tax office or from the Revenue Commissioners website www.revenue.ie.