Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael)
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768. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the post-Brexit treatment of Irish students attending UK universities in terms of funding and State support; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17561/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Under the terms of the Student Grant 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.

Student grant legislation was amended in 2020 to retain the status quo for students attending courses in the UK post-Brexit. Under the Student Grant Scheme 2020, students pursuing approved undergraduate courses in approved institutions in the UK may be considered for maintenance grant funding where the following criteria is met:

- Applicant is registered as a full-time student;

- Attending a publicly funded college;

- Course is at least 2 years in duration;

- Course is at least HND (Higher National Diploma) level or higher.

The Student Grant Scheme does not extend to the payment of tuition fees to institutions outside the State other than for exceptional provision in respect of postgraduate courses in Northern Ireland.

The decision on eligibility for student grant assistance is a matter, in the first instance, for the centralised student grant awarding authority SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland) to determine. 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 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. Such appeals can be made by the appellant on line via www.studentgrantappeals.ie

Further information in relation to student grant assistance is available from SUSI's website, www.susi.ie

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 the student’s local Tax Office or from the Revenue Commissioners website, www.revenue.ie.