Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)
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1085. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will consider revising the residency rules governing eligibility for the SUSI grant that prevents Irish citizens who return from non-EU countries from receiving the grant; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31896/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Under the terms of the Student Grant Scheme, grant assistance is awarded to students who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those relating to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means.

With regard to the residency criterion, in order to be eligible for a grant, a "student", as defined in Section 14 of the Student Support Act 2011, must demonstrate that he/she has been resident in the State for at least three years out of the five year period ending on the day before the start of his/her approved course of study. Similar and in some cases more restrictive residency criteria apply in other member States e.g. in the UK a student has to be resident for the three years immediately preceding his/her commencement in college.

The three out of five year rule takes cognisance of students who wish to take time out to travel or work abroad. Such students can still meet the residency requirement if they have not been outside the State for more than two of the previous five years.

It is also possible for students, who did not meet the residency requirement at the commencement of their studies, to have their eligibility reviewed if they meet the residency requirement during the course of their studies.

Alternatively a tuition student who meets the residency requirement in a Member State, the EEA or Switzerland and satisfies the nationality requirements may be eligible for a fee grant. There are no plans to extend beyond the current eligibility criteria.