Grant Payments
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-29
============================================================

Donna McGettigan (SF), Clare

In 2023 and 2024, approximately 22% were unsuccessful. In the subsequent academic year, the figure was 21%. There seems to be a percentage that is common across the years. I am given to understand that SUSI is a demand-based scheme. In other words, whatever moneys are not spent are handed back. Is there a cap on the number of SUSI grants that can be paid out or is the fund indefinite in nature?
While I welcome the year-on-year drop in the numbers refused due to the increase in the household income threshold, I am still concerned about the number of applicants being refused due to a lack of documentation and, more generally, the number of refusals and grants not paid out. Mature students who are 23 or older have no choice, due to the housing crisis, but to live at home. They are being unfairly treated because they are being assessed on the basis of their parents' income, despite the fact that they are trying to live independently. What can be done about that?

---

Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted.

Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-29/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:34+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-29