Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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795. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of SUSI applications that were rejected on the basis that the pandemic unemployment payment brought their income over the threshold in each of the past 12 months. [41504/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The principal support provided by the Department in financial terms is the Student Grant Scheme. Under the 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.

The decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter, in the first instance, for the centralised student grant awarding authority SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland) to determine.

As in any statutory scheme, a core principle is that there is consistency of approach and an equitable treatment for applicants as part of the means assessment process. This applies to people who are dependent on different types of social protection payment.

The Pandemic Unemployment Payment has been treated as reckonable income since it was introduced in March 2020. Income from the Covid-19 payment therefore has the same standing and is treated in a similar fashion to other Department of Social Protection payments such as Jobseeker's Benefit or Jobseeker's Allowance. 

A very important feature of the scheme that I would point to is the change of circumstances provision. If a student or party to their application experiences a change in circumstances that is not a temporary change and is likely to continue for the foreseeable future, they can apply to SUSI to have their application assessed under the change in circumstances provision of the relevant Student Grant Scheme. The income of all parties to the application will be assessed or reassessed based on current income and applicants may also be asked to provide evidence of same. Such a change in circumstances would clearly include no longer being in receipt of a pandemic unemployment payment. Students will no longer receive the PUP from early September, in line with normal circumstances where students do not qualify for unemployment payments while at college.

An applicant can request a review by contacting the SUSI Support Desk at 0761 087 874 or emailing support@susi.ie. 

The information requested by the Deputy cannot be provided in the format required.  When SUSI assesses an applicant’s reckonable income, the totality of the income is examined. If the total income is found to exceed the income thresholds outlined in the legislation, the applicant is deemed ineligible due to their total income exceeding the income thresholds.

The Pandemic Unemployment Payment is only one component of an applicant’s total reckonable income and it is not possible for SUSI to determine which component of the income results in the total income exceeding the threshold. 

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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796. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of SUSI applications that were rejected in each of the past five years and to date in 2021. [41505/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The principal support provided by the Department in financial terms is the Student Grant Scheme. Under the 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.

The decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter, in the first instance, for the centralised student grant awarding authority SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland) to determine.

The number of SUSI applications that were rejected in each of the past five years and to date in 2021  are as follows.

*For the current academic year the application process for 2021-22 is still open. However, I can confirm that as of 5^thSeptember 2021, SUSI had received just over 88,000 applications and assessed just over 59,700 with just over 51,900 qualifying for grant support.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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797. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of students who had their SUSI grant funding withdrawn from them mid-academic year in each of the past five years and to date in 2021. [41506/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Student Grant Scheme is the principal support for students in financial terms by my Department. It provides grant assistance to eligible students attending approved full-time courses in approved further or higher educational institutions who meet the prescribed eligibility criteria of the relevant scheme.

The Scheme is administered on behalf of my Department by the national student grant awarding authority SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland), a business unit of CDETB.  Under the terms of the Student Grant Scheme, grant assistance is awarded to eligible 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. 

During the academic year, new information can come to SUSI’s attention which results in a student who was awarded funding being found to be ineligible. There are a number of reasons why this can occur including for example:

- An applicant does not register with their intended institution and so does not begin or attend their intended higher or further education course.

- An applicant registers for a different course to the course that was previously awarded e.g. an applicant was initially awarded to an approved course but is now attending a part-time course or private college or an applicant was initially awarded to a course which sees them progress in their education but is now attending a course at the same or lower level as previously attended.

- An applicant was awarded a fees grant only for a course within Ireland and is now attending a course overseas or a PLC course within the state where fee grants are not payable.

- An applicant is not progressing to the year of the course that the grant was awarded to.

- A renewal applicant confirms no change to their eligibility from the previous academic year on the application form but a change is subsequently found e.g. reckonable income is found to have increased.

The number of students who had their SUSI grant funding withdrawn from them mid-academic year in each of the past five years and to date in 2021 is as follows.

Academic Year 2021/22

For the current academic year the application process for 2021-22 is still open. However, I can confirm that as of 5th September 2021, SUSI had received just over 88,000 applications and assessed just over 59,700 with just over 51,900 qualifying for grant support.

Academic Year 2020/21

SUSI received over 100,000 applications in academic year 2020/21.  Of these, 2,154 students who were initially awarded funding for academic year 2020/21 were found to be ineligible for funding during the academic year.

Academic Year 2019/20

SUSI received over 96,000 applications in academic year 2019/20.  Of these, 1,807 students who were initially awarded funding for academic year 2019/20 were found to be ineligible for funding during the academic year.

Academic Year 2018/19

SUSI received almost 99,000 applications in academic year 2018/19.  Of these, 1,838 students who were initially awarded funding for academic year 2018/19 were found to be ineligible for funding during the academic year.

Academic Year 2017/18

SUSI received over 103,000 applications in academic year 2017/18.  Of these, 1,919 students who were initially awarded funding for academic year 2017/18 were found to be ineligible for funding during the academic year.

Academic Year 2016/17

SUSI received over 105,000 applications in academic year 2016/17.  Of these, 1,766 students who were initially awarded funding for academic year 2016/17 were found to be ineligible for funding during the academic year.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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798. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of students who applied for SUSI in each of the past five years and to date in 2021, by county. [41507/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The principal support provided by my Department in financial terms is the Student Grant Scheme. Under the terms of the 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. 

The scheme is demand led and as such the numbers applying each year can change for reasons such as demographics, employment rates etc.The number of students who applied for SUSI in each of the past five years and to date in 2021, by county are as follows.

*For the current academic year the application process for 2021-22 is still open and the figures provided are as at the 5th September 2021.

Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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799. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of students who qualified for a SUSI grant in each of the past five years and to date in 2021, by county. [41508/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The principal support provided by my Department in financial terms is the Student Grant Scheme. Under the terms of the 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. 

The scheme is demand led and as such the numbers applying each year can change for reasons such as demographics, employment rates etc.  The number of students who qualified for a SUSI grant in each of the past five years and to date in 2021, by county is as follows.

*For the current academic year the application process for 2021-22 is still open and the figures provided are as at the 5th September 2021.

Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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800. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a specific grant will be made available to students who will commence studying for a doctorate in educational psychology in UCD in 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41521/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The main support available to students is the statutory based Student Grant Scheme where students are studying for the first time or are progressing to study at a higher level.  The decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter, in the first instance, for the centralised student grant awarding authority SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland) to determine.

Postgraduate students who meet the qualifying conditions for the special rate of grant under the Student Grant Scheme are eligible for the Postgraduate Special Rate of Maintenance grant, the income threshold for this grant is €24,500, also postgraduate students are eligible to have their post graduate tuition fees paid up to the maximum fee limit of €6,270.

Budget 2021 provided for enhanced postgraduate supports for the academic year 2021/22 including the fee grant amount rising from €2,000 to €3,500 and the income threshold for eligibility for these grants to increase from €31,500, now €54,240. This is an initial step in meeting part of the Government’s commitments regarding SUSI grant support.

Students can determine their eligibility at susi.ie/eligibility/income/.

In addition, 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. Further information on this tax relief is available from  a student's local Tax Office or from the Revenue Commissioners website, www.revenue.ie.

Réada Cronin (Kildare North, Sinn Fein)
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801. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his Department is willing to take action to assist students to access third-level education by disregarding the PUP payment as a reckonable income in their application for a SUSI grant, given the payment is due to come to an end on 7 September 2021; if he will commit to a review of those cases already rejected due to a payment which will no longer exist when the term starts; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41558/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Student Grant Scheme is a critical financial support for students participating in further and higher education.  As in any statutory scheme, a core principle of the scheme is that there is consistency of approach and an equitable treatment for applicants as part of the means assessment process. All applications are assessed nationally with reference to the terms and conditions of the relevant student grant scheme. The terms and conditions of funding are applied impartially to all applicants. 

The Social Welfare (Covid-19) (Amendment) Act 2020 establishes the COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment as a social insurance benefit scheme separate from other social protection statutory schemes including the Supplementary Welfare Allowance and Jobseeker Allowance and Jobseeker Benefit schemes.

For student grant purposes the Covid-19 payment has been treated as reckonable income for the SUSI means assessment process since it was introduced in March 2020. This means that the Covid-19 payment is treated in a similar fashion to other Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection payments such as Jobseekers Benefit/Allowance, thus ensuring a consistency of approach and an equitable treatment of students and their families in the SUSI means assessment process.

However, a very important feature of the scheme that I would point to is the change of circumstances provision. If a student or party to their application experiences a change in circumstances that is not a temporary change and is likely to continue for the foreseeable future, they can apply to SUSI to have their application assessed under the change in circumstances provision of the relevant Student Grant Scheme. The income of all parties to the application will be assessed or reassessed on current income and applicants may also be asked to provide evidence of same.

Such a change in circumstances would clearly include no longer being in receipt of a pandemic unemployment payment. Students will no longer receive the PUP from early September, in line with normal circumstances where students do not qualify for unemployment payments while at college.

An applicant can request a review by contacting the SUSI Support Desk at 0761 087 874 or emailing support@susi.ie. 

The change of circumstances provision is a well-established procedure and it can also operate at scale.  For example, over 10,000 applicants declared a change of circumstance in the 2020/21 academic year and some 40% of these applications related to COVID-19. I am confident that the application of this provision will continue to allow the scheme to be flexible and responsive to people's circumstances.

Any student who believes his/her student grant application has been assessed incorrectly may also avail of the opportunities to appeal to SUSI and subsequently to the independent Student Grants Appeals Board.

Apart from the Student Grant Scheme, students in third-level institutions experiencing exceptional financial need can apply for support under the Student Assistance Fund. This Fund assists students, in a sensitive and compassionate manner, who might otherwise be unable to continue their third level studies due to their financial circumstances. Details of this fund are available from the Access Office in the third level institution attended. This fund is administered on a confidential, discretionary basis.

Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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802. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of students receiving supports in the form of grants each year since 2011, by undergraduate, postgraduate and post leaving certificate; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [41572/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The principal support provided by my Department in financial terms is the Student Grant Scheme. Under the terms of the 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. 

The scheme is demand led and as such the numbers applying each year can change for reasons such as demographics, employment rates etc.  The number of students receiving supports in the form of grants each year since 2012, the year SUSI was established, by undergraduate, postgraduate and post leaving certificate are as follows.

Details for 2011/12 are below.

* First 3 years of SUSI were new applications only.