Pa Daly (Kerry, Sinn Fein)
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105. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will review the criteria to establish a SUSI applicant’s independence from their parents in cases in which the applicant is under 23 years of age and is living independently from their parents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [58612/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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For student grant purposes, students are categorised according to their circumstances either as students dependent on parents or a legal guardian, or as independent mature students.

A student may be assessed as an independent student (i.e. assessed without reference to parental income and address) if he/she has attained the age of 23 on the 1st of January of the year of first entry to an approved course, and is not ordinarily resident with his/her parents from the previous 1st October. Otherwise, he/she would be assessed as a dependent student, i.e. assessed with reference to parental income and address.

However, there are points at which a student may reclassify from a dependent student to an independent student. These are where he/she:

- Progresses from further education to higher education.

- Is returning following a 3 year break in studies.

- Is returning as a "second chance" student after a five year break in studies.

The decision on eligibility for student grant applications is a matter for the centralised grant awarding authority, SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland).

Applicants who do not meet the criteria to be assessed as an independent student for grant purposes, or who cannot supply the necessary documentation to establish independent living for the required period, may still apply to SUSI to have their grant eligibility assessed as a dependent student. The relevant information, including details of parental income, would be required by SUSI to determine grant eligibility as a dependent student.

If an individual applicant considers that she/he has been unjustly refused a student grant, or that the rate of grant awarded is not the correct one, she/he may appeal, in the first instance, to SUSI and subsequently to the Student Grants Appeals Board within the statutory timeframes.

Further information regarding class of applicant (independent or dependent) and the types of documentation accepted as evidence of living independently from parents is available from SUSI’s website: susi.ie/eligibility/applicant-class/

The existing rules reflect the fact that very significant numbers of third-level students move out of home to go to college and continue to be supported by their parents, where their parents have sufficient means, while in full-time education.

In terms of my overall priorities in respect of any amendments to the Student Grant Scheme a review is currently ongoing. I am awaiting the finalised report of the review of the Student Grant Scheme. This will be critical in informing decision-making in future Estimates processes about changes to the rates and thresholds, as well as informing policy priorities and future considerations regarding the development of student grant policy.