Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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2628.To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost for SUSI to introduce a dedicated translation service for students and their documentation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33095/24]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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The was signed into law by the President of Ireland on 22 December 2021.

State bodies are required to make all forms, documents, and reports available in both English and Irish under the Official Languages Act.

This new legislation is a strengthening of the Official Languages Act 2003 and it is widely recognised that it will make a significant contribution to the quality of services in Irish provided to the public by State bodies.

SUSI currently use English to Irish translation services only, therefore, we are unable to provide an estimated cost of providing a dedicated translation service for students with documentation in a language other than English or Irish for SUSI applications.

Mairéad Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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2629.To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost of expanding the student assistance fund to allow international students to avail of it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [33096/24]

Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael)
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As this is a hypothetical situation it would not be appropriate to estimate the costs involved.

The Student Assistance Fund (SAF) provides financial assistance to students experiencing financial difficulties while attending higher education. Students can be assisted towards costs such as rent, childcare, transport and costs associated with the provision of books/class materials.

Students who are non-EU, including UK nationals, but who are eligible for free or reduced fees in line with the criteria for the Free Fees Initiative, may be considered for the Student Assistance Fund subject to meeting other relevant criteria.

International/non-EU fee paying students who pay the full international rate of fee are not eligible for funding under the Student Assistance Fund. Higher Education Institutions are advised to ring-fence funding from non-EU fee income to provide for any emergency financial requirements arising for students in need and the creation of a separate dedicated fund is not under consideration by my Department.

It should also be noted that International Students must also demonstrate their capacity to support themselves while in Ireland and students are required to have private medical insurance at the time of registration.

I trust that this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.