Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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507. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will consider implementing the announced reforms of SUSI for this academic year to address the rising cost of living impacting students and families; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54205/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Student Grant Scheme, administered by SUSI, provides grant assistance to students pursuing 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. It assists over 70,000 students annually to access third level education.

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 aim of the student grant scheme is to make a contribution to the cost of going to college.

The student grant is an absolutely critical support for the students who receive it. That is why, following taking up my Ministerial appointment, I initiated a Review of the Student Grant Scheme to see where improvements would be most effective. The importance of this Review has been underlined by the rise in the costs of living across society. This has impacted students who have been affected by the increasing costs of accommodation and a range of other costs.

The review is at an advanced stage, and is in the process of finalisation by the consultations and the steering group. There was significant public interest in the Review, with around 280 submissions and over 9,000 survey responses from students. The final Report will be presented to me later this year and I intend bringing it to Government for approval. It is the intention that this review will inform policy priorities and future considerations regarding the development of student grant policy.

The eligibility criteria for student grants are reviewed annually by the Department and approved by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. All proposals made in relation to education expenditure, including student grants, are considered in the context of the annual Budget.

For the current academic year of 2021/22, student grant applications are assessed with reference to the Student Grant Scheme 2021, with the means test based on gross income from all sources for the period 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2020.

As part of Budget 2022, I have secured an additional €15m to enhance the existing financial supports under the Student Grant Scheme for implementation in 2022.

For the academic year 2022/23 this will mean:-

- An increase to all student grant maintenance payments, including the special rate of grant, of €200 per year which will benefit all students entitled to receive a maintenance Grant. There are currently circa 62,000 SUSI grant recipients receiving maintenance support.

- The income threshold to qualify for the standard rate of student grant has been increased by €1,000.

- The qualifying distance criterion for students to qualify for the non-adjacent rate of grant has been reduced from 45km to 30km, effective from the start of the 2022/23 academic year.

I have prioritised these changes for the 2022/23 academic year and they will benefit thousands of students building on the improvements that have already been made for postgraduate students through this year’s student grant scheme. These improvements to the student grant scheme have been a priority for me since taking up my Ministerial appointment.