Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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416. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if, in relation to SUSI grants, a student who qualified for the special rate support grant in their first year on an undergraduate course can be subsequently removed from this rate if their parent comes off the qualifying payment (details supplied); if this can happen regardless of the household’s income, which continues to be under €24,500; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43286/20]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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As part of a comprehensive customer service and communications strategy provided by Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI), to ensure that all necessary avenues are open to applicants to receive the information they need, a dedicated email and phone line service is provided by SUSI for Oireachtas members. This was established to meet an identified need for applicants who choose to engage the assistance of their public representatives in making enquiries about their grant applications.

This service, which was set up at the behest of Oireachtas members, complements the established channels provided by SUSI which include online application tracking, a dedicated website, a telephone helpdesk, email and social media, including Facebook and Twitter. Enquiries may be emailed direct to SUSI at oireachtas@susi.ie. Staff in SUSI are responding to email queries within a matter of days.

The Deputy will appreciate that in the absence of all of the relevant details that would be contained in an individual's application form, including those relating to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means, it would not be possible for me to say whether or not a student would qualify for a grant. However, in general terms, 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

(iii) 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).

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.

All students in third-level institutions experiencing exceptional financial need can apply for support under 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. Eligible costs include books and other class material that are required to enable students to continue and participate in teaching and learning, rent, heating and lighting bills and other utility bills such as mobile phone data plans, food, essential travel, childcare costs, medical costs and family difficulties. The SAF allocation is €18.2 million for 2020/21, a record increase on previous years. This includes the once off exceptional €8.1 million to help deal with the Covid-19 effect on students in the financial year 2020. In 2019 the allocation for SAF was €10.1m and supported circa 14,000 students. Institutions have the autonomy to maximise the flexibility Student in the Assistance Fund to enable HEIs to support students during the Covid-19 pandemic. This fund is administered on a confidential, discretionary basis.

In addition, tax reliefat 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.