The Deputy may be aware that 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 course, and are not ordinarily resident with their parents from the previous 1st October. 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.
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 SUSI to have their grant eligibility assessed as a dependent student. The relevant information, including details of parental income, would be required by SUSI to determine grant eligibility as a dependent student.
Further information regarding class of applicant (independent or dependent) and the types of documentation accepted as evidence of living independently from parents is available from SUSI’s website: susi.ie/eligibility/applicant-class/.
The Deputy will appreciate that the funding allocation for the Student Grant Scheme is determined in the context of the overall estimates and budgetary process undertaken by all Government Departments. All proposals made in relation to SUSI grant expenditure can only be considered in the context of the budgetary allocation, having regard to overall resource constraints and other competing demands in the further and higher education sector.
