Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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449. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated annual cost of the administration of SUSI. [45801/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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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 student grant scheme opens the door for many people to access further and higher education who would not otherwise have been able to avail of these opportunities. The scheme is demand led and as such the numbers applying each year can change for reasons such as demographics, employment rates etc.

City of Dublin ETB, by way of order under the Student Support Act 2011, was designated as the appointed awarding authority for student grants on 22nd May 2012. To deliver this statutory function, CDETB set up a business unit called SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland). Provision is made for the pay and non-pay costs associated with SUSI. The estimated annual SUSI administration cost for 2022 is circa €10.5m million out of a total allocation in 2022 of circa €423 million for student supports and related activities.