Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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116. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the proposed new further education and training campus on the grounds of a location (details supplied) in Galway city; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59698/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The College of the Future Major Projects Fund will support the implementation of the vision set out in the Further Education Strategy.

During a recent visit to Galway earlier this week, I was very pleased to announce that Galway Roscommon ETBs strategic proposal to develop a Further Education College in Galway city was successful in the first stage of the assessment process under the FET College of the Future Major Projects Fund.

GRETB’s proposal envisages the development of a new state-of-the-art FET campus on a site adjacent to its Mervue Training facility. This proposed new development would facilitate the strengthening of FET in Galway City and the wider region due to its close proximity to the training Centre in Mervue, Atlantic Technological University and NUI Galway.

This proposal will now progress to the next stage of the project lifecycle under the public Spending Code, which requires the development of a detailed Preliminary Business Case. This will begin in early 2023. A further evaluation of preliminary business cases for the ten proposals being allowed to progress to the second stage of the assessment process will be undertaken in 2023.

Aindrias Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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117. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if one-off payments in Budget 2023 will be included as income in household income means testing for SUSI applications for 2023/2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [59862/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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In response to the ongoing cost of living pressures, as part of Budget 2023, I have secured a significant cost-of-living package for third level students.

The cost-of-living package, to take effect before the end of 2022, includes

-a one-off state financial support of €1,000 towards the undergraduate student contribution fee for higher education students eligible for the free fees initiative;

-a one-off reduction of up to 33% in the contribution fee for apprentices

-a one-off extra payment for all student maintenance grant recipients in December 2022 and

-a one-off increase of €1,000 in the support to SUSI qualified Post Graduate students, increasing from €3,500 to €4,500.

In addition, the Department of Social Protection announced a number of one-off measures during the coming months to help individuals and families through this difficult period.

The statutory based Student Grant Scheme and Student Support Regulations are reviewed annually by my Department, following consultation with various stakeholders and other Government Departments including the Department of Social Protection and the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. Consideration of this issue will form part of the Student Grant Scheme and Student Support Regulations for the 2023/24 academic year, which will published in March 2023.

While the Scheme will not be agreed and published until March 2023, typically the scheme has been adjusted in the past when state payments of this nature increase and I anticipate this to be the case, subject to the usual deliberative process.