Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
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915. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will review matters raised in correspondence (details supplied); if he will address the concerns raised regarding the timeline for submitting a SUSI appeal in cases where delays are due to awaiting official academic results; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [54823/25]

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

Under the Student Grant Scheme for approved full-time courses, income of the applicant from employment which represents holiday earnings outside of term time (Easter, Summer and Christmas holidays) can be deducted when determining the reckonable income of an applicant. The maximum amount of this deduction in the 2025/2026 academic year is €8,424 (an increase from €7,925 in the 2024/2025 academic year) and this can be deducted from both full-time and part-time employment income.

An official in my Department has advised that the applicant was awarded the 100% rate of Student Contribution or 50% Tuition fees, whichever applies by the awarding authority, SUSI and was advised of this by letter dated 1st July 2025. On the same day, an additional letter was sent to the applicant advising them that the award stated above may improve by submitting evidence of their 2024 Holiday Earnings. No further documents were received.

The applicant submitted an appeal to SUSI on 12 September 2025, however, as the appeal was not submitted within the timeframe of 60 days from the date of the awarding authority's decision on their application, 1 July 2025, the Appeals Officer was unable to accept it as an appeal. The applicant was notified of this by letter dated 29 September 2025.

The Appeals Officer did however refer the application to the Internal Review team for review. A letter was sent to the applicant on 1st October 2025 requesting evidence of Holiday Earnings in 2024 and the awarding authority await receipt of same.

The student should now submit evidence of holiday earnings in 2024 and this will be reviewed by SUSI.

I hope this information is helpful and I wish the student well in her studies.