Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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334. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of students who received SUSI grants in each of the years 2017 to 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48824/21]

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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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 scheme is demand led and as such the numbers applying each year can change for reasons such as demographics, employment rates etc.

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 application process generally opens in late March/early April. When students apply for grant support, the application is assessed and the student is notified of the decision in principle. This allows the student an opportunity to appeal a decision before a final decision is made. In a small number of cases, some students don’t subsequently qualify for grant support.

The numbers of students who received SUSI grants in each of the years 2017 to 2020 and to date in 2021 are set out in the table.

Please note that data for 2021/22 is not currently available. First payments will be made on 8th October.

Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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335. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of students who appealed a SUSI grant refusal in each of the years 2017 to 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48825/21]

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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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 Student Grant Scheme is administered by the centralised national grant awarding authority SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland), a business unit of CDETB (City of Dublin Education and Training Board), on behalf of the Department. The decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter for SUSI to determine.

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 form outlining the position may be submitted by the applicant to the independent Student Grants Appeals Board.

The numbers of students who appealed a SUSI grant refusal in each of the years 2017 to 2020 and to date in 2021 are set out in the table.

Data as on 04/10/2021

Johnny Guirke (Meath West, Sinn Fein)
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336. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of students who were successful in their appeal of a SUSI grant initial refusal in the years 2017 to 2020 and to date in 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [48826/21]

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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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 Student Grant Scheme is administered by the centralised national grant awarding authority SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland), a business unit of CDETB (City of Dublin Education and Training Board), on behalf of the Department. The decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter for SUSI to determine.

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 form outlining the position may be submitted by the applicant to the independent Student Grants Appeals Board.

The numbers of students who were successful in their appeal of a SUSI initial grant refusal in each of the years 2017 to 2020 and to date in 2021 are set out in the table.

The numbers of students who were successful in their appeal of a SUSI initial grant refusal as a result of new information or a change in circumstances in each of the years 2017 to 2020 and to date in 2021 are set out in the table.