Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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714. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if the SUSI grant department used the Revenue Commissioners net or gross income figure as part of their income calculations for the purposes of determining the reckonable income of an applicant (details supplied); if the pension contributions was used as part of their income calculations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14196/22]

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.

Assessment of means under the Student Grant Scheme 2021 is based on gross income from all sources, of the applicant and his parents or partner.  No deduction is given for outgoings with the exception of pension contributions, legally enforceable maintenance payments and employment related expenses as approved by Revenue.  With regards to pension contributions as approved by Revenue the Student Grant Scheme states that these contributions must be made in the reference period, which in this case, is from 01st January to the 31st December 2020.

With regard to this specific application, I have been advised by my officials that the student that you refer to appealed firstly to SUSI and more recently to the independent Student Grant Appeals Board.  The appeal was heard by the Board on the 7th December 2021 and the determination was communicated to the student directly.

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. 

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 in EU Member States and in non-EU countries. Further information on this tax relief is available from the student’s local Tax Office or from the Revenue Commissioners website, www.revenue.ie.

Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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715. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if the total expenditure on higher education programme B is set to decrease by approximately €59.6 million in 2022 as outlined by the Parliamentary Budget Office in a recent report; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14411/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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In 2021 the Department secured additional temporary funding during the Supplementary Estimates. Within Programme B, voted higher education, the Department secured €227 million additional temporary funding in 2021:

- €147 million for University pension schemes and to strengthen University balance sheets 

- €80 million for the safe re-opening of the higher education sector in the 2021/22 academic year 

This investment was for one year only and temporary, making the 2021 figure look unnaturally high and skewing the analysis published by the Parliamentary Budget Office.  

Removing temporary funding in both 2021 and 2022, the increase year on year for core Voted higher education funding, Programme B, is 7%, or €125 million. The detail is set out in the attached table.

Table: True core ncrease in Voted higher education funding from 2021 to 2022

Higher education investment in 2022 is over €2 billion (€2.4 billion including investment through the National Training Fund).