Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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247. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will review decisions on SUSI grants that were turned down for the 2021-22 academic year due the inability of students to prove their place of independent living from October 2020 given that the housing and rental situation was abnormal due to Covid-19, as in the case of a mature student (details supplied) who would otherwise have had no difficulty proving same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [35022/22]

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

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.   

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/ 

If the student in question considers that he has been unjustly refused a student grant or that the rate of grant awarded is not the correct one, he may appeal this decision to SUSI within the statutory time limit of 30 days,

Where an individual applicant has an appeal turned down in writing by SUSI and remains of the view that the scheme has not been interpreted correctly in his case, an appeal form outlining the position may be submitted online by the applicant to the independent Student Grants Appeals Board (The Board) within the required timeframe not later than 30 days after the notification of the appeals officer to the applicant however the period mentioned may be extended by the Appeals Board (at the request in writing of the applicant) for a further period not exceeding 30 days if the Appeals Board is satisfied that the person has given reasonable cause to extend .

I have been informed that the student to whom the Deputy refers appealed to the Board outside of the timeframe provided.   The Board does not have any discretion to extend the time period beyond that allowed for in the Act.

However, article 32 of the Student Grant Scheme 2022 provides for a review of eligibility for the award of a grant in the event of a change of circumstances in the academic year. Where a student experiences a change of circumstances during the course of their studies, he/she may apply to SUSI to have his/her application re-assessed at helpdesk@SUSI.ie quoting Internal Review in the Subject line.

The change of circumstances provision is a well-established procedure and it can also operate at scale.  For example, over 10,000 applicants declared a change of circumstance in the 2020/21 academic year.  I am confident that the application of this provision will continue to allow the scheme to be flexible and responsive to people's circumstances.