Written Answers Nos. 225-233
229. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science whether he will review the SUSI eligibility criteria that classify mature students living in the parental home as dependent students for grant assessment purposes; and whether consideration is being given to assessing such applicants on the basis of their own income and financial circumstances rather than parental income. [67256/26]
View answerIn general for student grant purposes students are categorised according to their circumstances either as students dependent on their parent(s) or legal guardian(s), or as independent mature students.
A student may be assessed as an independent student if:-
• they have attained the age of 23 on the 1st of January of the year of first entry or re-entry to an approved further education course or an approved higher education course and;
• have not been ordinarily resident with their parent(s) from the previous 1st October.
Otherwise, they are assessed as a dependent student i.e. assessed with reference to parental income.
Applicants who do not meet the criteria to be assessed as an independent student for grant purposes, or who cannot supply the necessary documentation to establish independent living for the required period, may still apply to the awarding authority SUSI to have their grant eligibility assessed as a dependent student.
In examining changes to eligibility criteria for the Scheme, including changes to how applicants are classified, I have to consider how a change might impact on a particular cohort when compared against the impact of a wide range of other competing policy demands across the sector. I also have to have regard to the availability of resources in an Estimates process.
The Student Grant Scheme recognises the challenges faced by students in accessing education. In recognition of the additional costs for students who live further away from their institution Budget 2026 increased all non-adjacent maintenance grants by at least €200 from September 2026.
In addition, Budget 2026 saw:
• A permanent reduction to the student contribution charge by €500
• A permanent increase to the Post Graduate Fee Contribution Grant by €500 from €4,000 to €4,500
• An increase in the income threshold for the special rate of grant from €27,400 to €28,600 for the 2026/27 academic year
The income threshold for the €500 student contribution grant increased from €115,000 to €120,000. Combined with the permanent fee reduction, this means that eligible undergraduate students whose households earning are under €120,000 will pay no more than €2,000 towards the student contribution charge in the 2026/27 academic year.
The Student Grant Scheme is kept under continuous review, and every year, my Department publishes an options paper setting out costed reforms and changes to the scheme.
I published this year's paper on 8th September, Funding the Future: An Annual Options Paper on reducing the Cost of Education, in advance of Budget 2027 in order to inform public debate on what options should be prioritised in the context of the Estimates process. eur05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.ie%2Fen%2Fdepartment-of-further-and-higher-education-research-innovation-and-science%2Fpublications%2Ffunding-the-future-an-annual-options-paper-on-reducing-the-cost-of-education%2F&data=05%7C02%7Clisa_fenlon%40dfheris.gov.ie%7Cedc156824ce3476ce4f308df0dab0d90%7Cf5c0d15a869347e3b506b1617300787f%7C0%7C0%7C639244700465418374%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=s9edDC2AmYvZ7p4t6N2lotkTydfwxxbl%2BPc78wc5XDY%3D&reserved=0
230. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the total annual expenditure under the international protection student scheme in each of the academic years for the past five years. [67320/26]
View answer231. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of adult international protection applicants who received funding under the international protection student scheme in each of the past five years. [67319/26]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 230 and 231 together.
In terms of supports for migrants and international protection applicants, the International Protection Student (IPS) Scheme was introduced in 2015.
This Scheme is targeted at particular groups of students who are in the international protection or leave to remain process and are pursuing an approved post leaving certificate course or an approved undergraduate or postgraduate course. Such students cannot access the Student Grant Scheme because they do not meet the eligibility criteria under the scheme. The IPS Scheme largely mirrors the Student Grant Scheme and includes a means test and residency criteria.
Please see the below the number of applicants to the IPS Scheme who were awarded funding, the number of paid applicants and the total annual expenditure over the previous five academic years as requested by the Deputy.
|
Academic Year |
2022/23 |
2023/24 |
2024/25* |
2025/26 |
2026/27** |
|
Number of applicants awarded funding |
8 |
9 |
4 |
20 |
23 |
|
Applicants paid |
8 |
9 |
4 |
20 |
6 |
|
Total Expenditure |
€48,029.00 |
€76,553.45 |
€19,070.00 |
€135,208.18 |
€3,041.34 |
*Please note the value for 2024/25 is lower than previous years as no tuition fees were due to be paid for academic year 2024/25.
**Please note that these figures are likely to change as SUSI continues to process applications and payments for academic year 2026/27.
All data is as of 18 September 2026.
232. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science further to Parliamentary Question No's 6899/26 and 50256/26 to confirm that Cavan/Monaghan ETB's FET College Major Capital Project will be developed at one location on land currently occupied by a college (details supplied); to further confirm this project will advance at pace; and if he will outline the timeframe for the appointment of a design team. [67317/26]
View answerCMETB’s proposal for a new college to be delivered on the Cathedral Road site in Cavan is progressing under the FET College Major Capital Programme (FCMCP) and is currently at the Pre-tender - Project Design, Planning, and Procurement Stage. At the beginning of the year, officials from my department met with all 12 Chief Executives who have projects under this programme. At that meeting, ETBs were advised that they need to prioritise these projects so that appointment of design teams can take place as soon as possible for those ETBs that are ready to do so.
In order to provide for consistency of approach and to ensure timely delivery of projects under this programme, an integrated design team framework was advertised to suppliers in April this year. This framework has been evaluated and is now in place for all ETBs who are ready to draw down services.
Workshops, led by my Department Officials, SOLAS and the GDA are taking place with those ETBs that are ready to work on their Design Team Brief. These workshops will allow for ETBs to draw down services from the Framework by ensuring that all parties understand the requirements of the Pre-tender - Project Design, Planning, and Procurement Strategy Stage and that robust documentation is produced and agreed as appropriate for the draw down of Design Team Services.
CMETB had their first workshop earlier this month and are presently working on their Design Team Brief in advance of their next scheduled workshop, which will take place in early October.
At present, I am not in a position to give a definitive timeframe for when a Design Team will be appointed for this project, as responsibility for this process progressing rests with the ETB. However, you can be rest assured that my Department Officials, SOLAS and the GDA are supporting CMETB to get to the point of being ready to tender from the framework for the appointment of a Design Team and this work is being prioritised to ensure that a Design Team will be appointed in a timely manner.
233. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of adult international protection applicants enrolled in PLC courses, apprenticeships, undergraduate courses and postgraduate courses for the academic years 2024/2025, 2025/2026 and to date in 2026/2027. [67318/26]
View answerThe information that the Deputy has requested is not readily available, I have requested my staff to collect and collate this information and I will be back to you as soon as possible.
