Marie Sherlock (Dublin Central, Labour)
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281. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the means by which a SUSI grant applicant (details supplied), who is being accommodated through the rent-a-room scheme, can satisfy the requirement to confirm their independent residency; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36274/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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In general, for student grant purposes, students are categorised according to their circumstances either as students dependent on parents or a legal guardian, or as independent mature students.

A student may be assessed as an independent student (i.e. assessed without reference to parental income and address) if they have attained the age of 23 on the 1st of January of the year of first entry to an approved further or higher education course, and is not ordinarily resident with their parents from the 1st of October of the year before their first point of entry to an approved course and where it is established to the satisfaction or the awarding authority that they are eligible on that basis. Otherwise, they would be assessed as a dependent student i.e. assessed with reference to parental income and address.

A student’s status for grant purposes is defined at their first point of entry to an approved further or higher education course or at their point of re-entry to an approved course following a break in studies of at least three years, and continues to apply for the duration of their studies.

The decision on eligibility for student grant applications is a matter for the centralised grant awarding authority, SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland).

An official from my Department has advised that the awarding authority SUSI does not require Rent a Room applicants to be registered with the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB). However, letters from private landlords confirming residency, Revenue letters, bank statements, and proof of income are not accepted by SUSI as proof of independent residence. Documentary evidence of your independent residence may be in the form of utility bills which must be in the applicant’s name.

If the student referred to by the deputy is unable to provide any of the accepted documentation and is refused a grant, he may lodge an appeal to the SUSI Appeals Officer if his application remains within the statutory timeframe allowed. The Appeals Officer may then request additional documentation from him, providing evidence of his address and the address that his parent(s) reside, as evidence of independent residence.