Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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179. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will request SUSI to specifically deal with the issue of estrangement in Article 21(3)(b) of the student grant scheme 2020 to more accurately reflect the reality for many families. [42465/20]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The decision on eligibility for student grant applications is a matter for the centralised grant awarding authority, SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland).  

For student grant purposes, students are categorised according to their circumstances either as students dependent on parents or a legal guardian, or as independent mature students.   

A student may be assessed as an independent student (i.e. assessed without reference to parental income and address) if he/she has attained the age of 23 on the 1st of January of the year of first entry to an approved course, and is not ordinarily resident with his/her parents from the previous 1st October. Otherwise, he/she would be assessed as a dependent student, i.e. assessed with reference to parental income and address. 

The assessment of a case of estrangement is carefully considered but the current position is, only in exceptional cases, where compelling evidence of estrangement from parents/guardians is provided,

can candidates who are under 23 be assessed without reference to their parents/guardians income or address.

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 form outlining the position may be submitted by the applicant to the independent Student Grants Appeals Board.

In relation to the Student Grant and in line with the Programme for Government, I recently announced plans to review the SUSI scheme.  It is intended that the Review will commence before the end of 2020, and will report in Summer 2021.  Stakeholders will be consulted as part of the Review process, and it is intended that the future direction of the SUSI scheme will be guided by the outcome of the Review.

I would invite the Deputy to write to me with any further detail of individual cases or issues of concern which may be known to her so that I could have my officials examine them.