Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

1354. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of students receiving the back to education allowance who also applied for the student assistance fund based on the latest figures available. [20737/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The information requested by the Deputy is not available. The back to education allowance is a Department of Social Protection scheme. The Student Assistance Fund is administered locally by the Higher Education Institutions.

The Student Assistance Fund (SAF) provides financial support to full- and part-time students who are experiencing financial difficulties while attending higher education. Under the Fund, financial support can be provided to assist students who are unable to meet costs associated with day-to-day participation in higher education, including a number of categories such as books and other class material, rent, heating and lighting bills and other utility bills, essential travel, childcare costs etc.

The total SAF allocation for 2020/2021 was €18.2 million which included an additional €8.1m in response to the COVID19 pandemic, €1m for students attending Professional Masters of Education (PME) courses, who are experiencing financial difficulty and €1 million of ring-fenced funding for the support of part-time students who are lone parents or members of the other access target groups identified in the National Plan for Equity of Access to Higher Education.

In 2019/2020 SAF supported circa 14,000 students in Higher Education.