Naoise Ó Muirí (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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985. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of students who will become eligible for the maintenance payment for postgraduate study in 2025. [51920/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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The decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter, in the first instance, for the awarding authority, SUSI to determine.

Postgraduate students who meet all the conditions of the Student Grant Scheme may become eligible for the following supports:

• A student Maintenance grant which was restored in September 2024 for the first time since the financial crash. The annual rates and the income thresholds for maintenance grants are the same for undergraduate and postgraduate students.
• A postgraduate fee contribution of €4,000 or a postgraduate fee grant, up to a maximum of €6,270 towards the cost of fees is available.
  • To be eligible for the postgraduate fee contribution grant of up to €4,000 plus a maintenance grant, the total household income must be within the income thresholds, see: www.susi.ie/eligibility-criteria/income/postgraduate-income-thresholds-and-grant-award-rates/#d.en.14684
  • To be eligible for the postgraduate fee grant up to a maximum of €6,270, the student must be eligible for a maintenance grant at the special rate.
  This is dependent on the level of a student's reckonable income and meeting all other eligibility criteria.