Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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548. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if assistance is available to a single parent who is studying part-time and working part-time; and if there is a payment that persons on low income who are studying to improve their situation can avail of. [15010/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The main support available to assist students with the cost of attending higher education is the Student Grant Scheme. Under the Scheme, grant assistance is awarded to eligible students attending an approved full-time course in an approved institution who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those relating to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means. 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.

At present, the student grant scheme is targeted at full-time students. Courses that are part-time, less than two years in duration, conducted online or as distance courses or which lead to a special purpose or distance award are not currently approved for the purposes of the Student Grant Scheme.

However, I have been consistent in my position that we need to develop our student support system over time to ensure that it supports more flexible forms of learning. This will particularly benefit more disadvantaged learners, as recognised in the National Access Plan.

The issue of potentially expanding part-time delivery of tertiary education in Ireland is a complex one and significant planning will need to be conducted at both national and institution level to manage the significant supply-side impacts on educational institutions. Through the Funding the Future policy, Government has recognised that supporting part-time, blended and postgraduate learning could potentially transform access to learning in the medium term, once existing reform commitments are embedded within the sector.

I have established a steering group to support the implementation of the Funding the Future reform framework. I chair this group alongside Professor Anne Looney and Professor Tom Collins, which is supported by two working groups comprising representatives of institutions, students, trade unions and employers. The working group focused on skills, participation and cost is currently examining the potential to support students to avail of more flexible learning opportunities.

I would expect that this working group will provide their consideration of these issues in the coming months. Having regard to this initial assessment, my Department will then examine whether there are priority areas that can form part of the consideration of Budget 2024, particularly with respect to supporting disadvantaged and under-represented learners.

Students in publicly funded third-level institutions experiencing exceptional financial difficulty can apply for support under the Student Assistance Fund. I have recently announced an additional €4.3 million to be allocated to SAF to assist students with the cost of living. This was in addition to the €8m that was allocated in Budget 2023. This brings the total allocation for the Student Assistance Fund for the 22/23 academic year to over €20 million, which is the highest amount that has ever been provided under this fund. The HEA will distribute funding of over €4.3m to the HEIs in early 2023.

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. It is open to both full and part-time registered students on courses of not less than one year's duration leading to an undergraduate or postgraduate qualification. Information on the fund is available through the Access Officer in the third level institution attended. This fund is administered on a confidential, discretionary basis. More information on the SAF is available at www.studentfinance.ie.

Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael)
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549. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the financial supports available to a US student with an Irish passport who wishes to complete her third-level studies in Ireland; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15034/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Under the terms of the Student Grant Scheme, grant assistance is awarded to students who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those relating to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means.

With regard to the residency criterion, in order to be eligible for a grant, a "student", as defined in Section 14 of the Student Support Act 2011, must demonstrate that he/she has been resident in the State for at least three years out of the five year period ending on the day before the start of his/her approved course of study. This rule is applied equally to everyone, regardless of their individual circumstances. It has, for example, been applied to refugees and Irish citizens returning from periods working abroad.

‎The three out of five year rule takes cognisance of students who wish to take time out to travel or work abroad. Such students can still meet the residency requirement if they have not been outside the State for more than two of the previous five years. It is worth pointing out that similar and in some cases more restrictive residency criteria apply in other member States e.g. in the UK a student has to be resident for the three years immediately preceding his/her commencement in college.‎‎It is also possible for a student who did not meet the residency requirement at the start of their studies to meet it during the course of their studies and become eligible for a student grant for the following academic year, provided they meet all other criteria of the Student Grant Scheme.