Written answers
Tuesday, 8 April 2025
Department of Education and Skills
Grant Payments
Malcolm Byrne (Wicklow-Wexford, Fianna Fail)
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1071. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the percentage of full time students in Irish higher education institutions in receipt of a SUSI grant in each of the years 2020 to 2024, broken down by category of grant (details supplied). [17247/25]
James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I can provide the Deputy with the number of students that have been awarded a grant under the Student Grant Scheme for the requested years. These are students that are attending an approved full-time course in an approved higher education institution. The figures exclude PLC and oversees colleges.
| Award | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Special Rate of Maintenance | 19,087 | 18,047 | 14,853 | 14,115 | 14,078 |
| Band 1 Full Maintenance | 29,151 | 27,885 | 24,322 | 22,284 | 19,953 |
| Band 2 Part Maintenance | 1,557 | 1,485 | 1,262 | 1,350 | 1,261 |
| Band 3 Part Maintenance | 3,115 | 2,982 | 2,685 | 2,844 | 2,664 |
| Band 4 Part Maintenance | 2,829 | 2,908 | 2,590 | 2,666 | 6,505 |
| 50% tuition fees or 100% student contribution | 8,727 | 8,252 | 7,309 | 6,559 | 6,892 |
| 50% student contribution | 4,177 | 4,197 | 3,972 | 8,365 | 4,169 |
| €500 Student Contribution | - | - | - | 17,520 | 18,287 |
| Postgraduate Fee Contribution | 1,434 | 2,762 | 2,353 | 648 | 439 |
| Postgraduate Tuition Fees (Special Rate) | 99 | 71 | 46 | 48 | 44 |
| Total | 70,176 | 68,589 | 59,392 | 76,399 | 74,292* |
The HEA, on their Key Facts & Figures dashboard, provides a thorough profile of the student population in higher education institutions. The latest dashboard includes figures from 2017/18 to 2023/24 and is available on the HEA website. The data on 2024/2025 is not available on the HEA website at this time.
Students | Statistics | Higher Education Authority (hea.ie/statistics/data-for-download-and-visualisations/students/)
The Overall Trends in Enrollments allows various filters to be applied including mode of study and may be helpful in calculating relevant percentage values. It is important to note that not all courses which are listed as full-time on the HEA data set are eligible for Student Grant Support.
Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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1072. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to fund an allocation of at least 30% of beds for vulnerable groups of students such as SUSI Recipients, HEAR, and Access Students and so on such as in UCD, DCU and Maynooth University. [17334/25]
James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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As a short-term measure to address the challenges faced by students in accessing accommodation, the Government approved funding for Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to activate projects with planning permission that had stalled due to cost and viability challenges.
Under this measure a percentage of the new beds will be ringfenced for target group students at below market rates. The target group are those considered most disadvantaged by the SUSI, NAP and DARE schemes.
The Maynooth University Student Accommodation project is currently onsite, with 116 beds under construction, with expected delivery for the 2025-2026 academic year. 30% of these beds will be made available for the target group of students, including those identified as most disadvantaged by the SUSI NAP and DARE schemes.
In the new Student Accommodation Strategy, which is in development, special emphasis will be placed on supporting the participation and inclusion of marginalised groups, including those identified through student support services or the policies outlined in the National Access Plan.
I intend on delivering the Strategy in Q2 2025.
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