“Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the annual spend on the student maintenance grant; the estimated cost of increasing all rates by 10%; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 13 July]
“After months of fighting for the exclusion of PUP payments in assessment for SUSI, Sinn Féin spokesperson on Further and Higher Education, Rose Conway-Walsh TD, has received assurance that no students will be denied or pushed out of SUSI for accepting the PUP. The Minister has confirmed on the floor of the Dáil that all students have the right to reapply based on the 2021 year and have PUP earned by a student excluded from the calculation. Teachta Conway-Walsh said …” (more)
[Sinn Féin, 13 July]
“Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the percentage of SUSI funding that goes towards covering the student contribution charge in each year since 2011; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 29 April]
“Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will consider amending the Student Support Act 2011 to support Irish students studying within the EU who would qualify for SUSI support if they were studying in Ireland; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that third-level education fees are lower in most other EU states than they are in Ireland; the estimated cost of such a change; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 28 April]
“The Society of St Vincent de Paul have joined calls by the Union of Students in Ireland to reform the SUSI grant scheme ahead of a full return to college. The funding model has been described as ‘not fit for purpose’ and no longer in line with the cost of living …” (more)
[Teresa Mannion, RTÉ News, 23 April]
“Catherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the data provided on foot of a recent freedom of information request (details supplied); the analysis his Department has carried out across third-level institutions which fall under the responsibility of his Department into the fining of students for the late payment of registration fees; if this issue will be examined as part of the ongoing review of Higher Education Authority legislation; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dail written answers, 1 April]
“Renewal applications for the student grant scheme for the 2021-22 academic year will open on Thursday, while a number of improvements have been made for the most disadvantaged students, Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris has said. These include an increase in the postgraduate fee grant and an increase in the income threshold, while a number of Department of Social Protection and other payments are to be included as income disregards …” (more)
[Colin Gleeson, Irish Times, 1 April]
“An overhaul of the student grant scheme is to be announced today. Among the changes are an increase in the postgraduate fee grant and qualifying income threshold. The scheme opens for renewal applications today. The changes to the SUSI scheme are effective for the coming 2021/22 academic year …” (more)
[Jess Casey, Irish Examiner, 1 April]
“The Department of Higher Education has launched a public consultation reviewing SUSI, with submissions closing on April 16th. The terms of reference of the public consultation include reviewing SUSI eligibility criteria, reviewing income thresholds, review of the SUSI maintenance grant, comparison of student supports with other European countries, examination of costs for postgraduate students and determining the real cost of attending higher education in Ireland …” (more)
[Sárán Fogarty, University Times, 18 March]
“Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if support will continue to be provided through the free fees initiative and SUSI grants for students that have to repeat a year due to the impact of Covid-19; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 4 March]
“Brendan Griffin (Kerry, Fine Gael): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if pandemic unemployment payments will be assessed as reckonable income for special rates of SUSI grants in 2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 10 February]
“Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention had been drawn to the taxable nature of the €250 SUSI rebate given in November 2020; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 3 February]
“Minister Simon Harris was asked by Clare TD Michael McNamara on an online forum whether or not he planned to reduce college fees in the wake of Covid-19. Minister Harris did not directly respond with an explicit binary response in relation to plans of the Department of Education and Skills to formally reduce college tuition fees on a national basis …” (more)
[Eve Moore, College Tribune, 27 January]
“Michael Lowry (Tipperary, Independent): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if third level students who did not qualify for free fees will receive a refund of their student contribution fees in view of the fact that the majority of students have been forced to move to online learning since the start of the academic year due to Covid-19 restrictions; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 20 January]
“Student budgets, like the rest of the world, have been thrown upside down by the pandemic. For some, the costs of living have increased because they’re out of work, still paying rent and paying higher broadband, heat and electricity bills as a result of working at home …” (more)
[Peter McGuire, Irish Times, 12 January]
“Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD has confirmed that almost 71,000 students will receive an additional €250 in their student grant payment starting today (Thursday). As part of Budget 2021, Minister Harris secured a €250 payment to all full-time EU students in publicly-funded higher education institutions to acknowledge the impact this pandemic has had on third-level students …” (more)
[gov.ie, 17 December]
“Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when students who do not avail of the SUSI grant will receive the €250 Covid-19 payment; when arrangements for payment to students who do not avail of SUSI will be finalised; and if this cohort of students will receive it before Christmas …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 16 December]
“Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide additional information on the €20 million in budget 2021 for SUSI that will see the funding returned to 2019 levels; the projections on demand upon which this is based; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil debates, 15 December]
“Annie Hoey (Labour): I am raising the need to address the issue around higher education funding being potentially lost to students who withdraw from their courses and the knock-on consequences that this will have not only for free fees – a term I use lightly – but also for their access to Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, grants …” (more)
[Seanad debates, 15 December]
“Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris TD has announced Government approval to conduct a review of the Student Grant Scheme administered by SUSI. The review’s terms of reference include examining the value of the maintenance grants and income thresholds, the availability of grants for part-time students, adjacent and non-adjacent rates, supports for postgraduates and how Ireland compares against other jurisdictions …” (more)
[gov.ie, 14 December]
