Dáil Éireann Debate, Monday - 9 September 2024
1980. Deputy Paul McAuliffe asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of students availing of SUSI grants and for a comparison with 2019, in tabular form. [34783/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe principal support provided by my Department in financial terms is the Student Grant Scheme. Under the terms of the Scheme, grant assistance is awarded to students attending an approved course in an approved institution who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those relating to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means.
The Scheme is administered on behalf of my Department by the national student grant awarding authority SUSI (Student Universal Support Ireland), a business unit of CDETB.
The number of student that were paid SUSI Grants for the 2019/2020 academic year was 71,503. The number of students that will avail of SUSI Grants for the 2024/2025 year is not available at this early stage. Not all students that are awarded at this stage will result in being paid, e.g. student may not register in college.
Therefore, to provide a like-for-like comparison, the table below shows the number of SUSI grant applications awarded for academic year 2019/2020 and academic year 2024/2025 up to 31 August 2024.
|
Academic Year |
2019/2020 |
2024/2025* (Up to 31 August 2024) |
|
Number of Applications Awarded |
76,348 |
67,097* |
|
Number of Applicants Paid |
71,503 |
- |
*Applications are still being received for academic year 2024/2025 so this figure will be subject to change.
