Third Level Fees
Dail Éireann — 2026-04-23
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Shane Moynihan (FF), Dublin Mid-West

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as ucht an fhreagra sin.
I want to be clear on the kinds of programmes I am talking about. I am talking about specialist ballet programmes that may not necessarily result in an undergraduate degree award but that are for individuals who would have been practising or learning how to perform ballet, in some cases since the age of four. They would enrol in universities abroad, for example the University of the Arts in Rotterdam.
A number of the constituency cases Deputy Ó Cearúil and I have been dealing with have come back and said that such a programme is not covered by SUSI grants at the moment. When people have a talent for something like ballet and it is something they want to pursue, it is important that, where programmes are not available in Ireland, some flexibility be given to people who want to study.
I know of instances where families have explored all available supports, such as through the Arts Council and SUSI and have been told quite clearly that such courses are not eligible for coverage by SUSI. Therefore, my question is on whether there is scope for grants or bursaries or for an alteration to be made to the criteria for SUSI grants to support families in such instances when students are not able to pursue these kinds of courses in this country.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-04-23/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-27T06:54:48+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-04-23