Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Social Democrats)
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512. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the amount of funding the Higher Education Authority provided to Maynooth University in each of the years of 2018 to 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form. [43398/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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My Department allocates recurrent funding to the Higher Education Authority (HEA) for direct disbursement to HEA designated higher education institutions. The HEA allocates this funding to the institutions via the recurrent funding model.

The HEA also allocates funding under specific initiatives and programmes including Skills funding under the NTF; access initiatives; capital grants; research grants; erasmus; superannuation and other initiatives.

Please see table attached outlining funding provided by the HEA to Maynooth University from 2018 to 2020 and to 31st July 2021.

<a href="https://data.oireachtas.ie/ie/oireachtas/debates/questions/supportingDocumentation/2021-09-16_pq51215092021_en.xlsx ">Maynooth University</a>

Seán Fleming (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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513. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the way in which payments received under the pandemic unemployment payment are treated in the SUSI grant application in terms of means; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43415/21]

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.

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.