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Know Your Rights has been compiled by Kerry Citizens Information Service which provides a free and confidential service to the public…
What is the Student Grant Scheme?
The Student Grant Scheme is the main financial support scheme for students studying in Ireland and abroad. “It is also known as the SUSI grant,” explains Deirdre Vann Bourke, Kerry Citizens Information Manager, “because the Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI) is the awarding authority for the Student Grant Scheme.”
Student grants are divided into:
• Maintenance grants and
• Fee grants
Maintenance grants help students with their living costs. Fee grants pay tuition fees for students who do not qualify for the Free Fees Scheme. Fee grants can also pay the Student Contribution and the cost of essential field trips. If you qualify for the maintenance grant, you also get the fee grant. Some people only get a fee grant.
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Student Grant Applications 2023-2024
If you are already getting the Student Grant, renewal applications for 2023-2024 opened on 9 March 2023. SUSI contacts renewal applicants directly about reapplying. New applications for Student Grant 2023-2024 will open on Thursday, 13 April 2023.
Who qualifies for a student grant?
To qualify for a student grant, you must meet all the conditions of the scheme. These include:
• Nationality condition
• Residence condition
• Means test
• Approved course of study: you must be attending an approved course of study
• Progression: you must be progressing from your previous level of study
• Maximum period of grant assistance
For more information about any of these conditions, please contact your local Citizens Information Centre. Today, Deirdre will focus on the means test for the grant “as this is a very popular query with our clients.”
The Means test
“The means test for a student grant in 2023-2024 is based on you or your family’s gross income for the previous full tax year (2022). However, if you or your family have had a change of circumstances (which is likely to be permanent) since 31 December 2022, your changed circumstances will be taken into account.”
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Reckonable income for a student grant is gross income from all sources. Some social welfare payments and financial support payments are excluded from ‘reckonable income’ for the purposes of student grants – contact your local CIC for more details.
Deirdre advises; “So, if you were ordinarily resident with your parent(s) from 1 October of the year before the year of entry to the course, you are considered dependent on your parent(s) and your income (if any) is assessed together with your parents’ income(s). An allowance is made for your earnings outside of term-time – up to €6,552. Outside term time is 2 weeks at Christmas, 2 weeks at Easter and 12 weeks during the summer months of June, July and August only. (Holiday pay earned outside these periods may also be allowed on receipt of a letter from the school/college confirming the exact dates of term).”
The COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) is also classed as reckonable income for the student grant means test. The allowance for earnings outside term-time earning cannot be deducted from PUP paid during that time.”
Income limits for maintenance grant and full fee grant
The family income limits for eligibility for a maintenance grant in 2023-2024 are set out below. These income limits are applied after your means are assessed. The income limits also apply to the grant (that is, if you don’t qualify for the free fees scheme and are eligible for a fee grant).
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Income limits for partial fee grant
The family income limits for eligibility for a partial fee grant in 2023-2024 are set out below.
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The 50% tuition fee is not payable if your fees are covered under the Free Fees Scheme.
Other family members in college
The reckonable income limits may be increased for each additional family member who is doing a full-time course of at least one year’s duration:
• In full maintenance and partial fee grant categories by €4,950
• In part maintenance 75%, 50% and 25% categories by €4,785
If you are an independent applicant, the family member taken into account is your spouse, civil partner or cohabitant. If you are dependent on your parents, the family members taken into account are your parent(s) and their other dependent children.
How much will I get?
The SUSI grant rate 2023-2024 that you get depends on the following factors:
• Your assessed means
• The distance you normally live from the college you are going to attend
• If you are a disadvantaged student
The means test determines whether you qualify for a full or partial grant. Deirdre advises, “If you normally live 30 km or less from your college you get the adjacent rate. If you live further away than 30 km, you get the non-adjacent rate. This is based on the distance of where you ordinarily lived in the year before you started college.”
Disadvantaged students can qualify for a special rate of maintenance grant. To qualify, you must fulfil all the normal criteria for the grant and have a total reckonable income in the tax year January to December 2022 of less than €25,000, not including Qualified Child Increases and standard exclusions.
For students, including mature students, who are assessed on parent(s)/guardian(s) income, their parent(s)/guardian(s) must, on 31 December 2022, have been:
• Getting long-term social welfare payments, or
• Getting a Working Family Payment or
• Taking part in designated programmes (for example, a Community Employment Scheme).
If you are assessed on your own income, on 31 December 2022 you must have been getting one of these social welfare payments or taking part in a designated programme.
Rates for the Student Grant Scheme 2023-2024:
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How to apply for a student grant
Renewal applications are open from 9 March 2023. SUSI contacts renewal applicants directly about reapplying. New applications for the student grant 2023-2024 will open on Thursday, 13 April 2023.
Applying online
You must apply for your grant online. You do not need to know what course you will be taking to apply online. To register with SUSI and apply online for a student grant, you will need your Personal Public Service (PPS) number, an email address and a phone number.
You can use your verified MyGovID account to automatically create and log in to your SUSI account without having to register directly with SUSI. You can use SUSI’s online application tracker to get the most up-to-date information about your student grant application and confirm that your supporting documentation has been received.
• For anyone needing information, advice or have an advocacy issue, you can call a member of the local Citizens Information team in Kerry on 0818 07 7860, they will be happy to assist and make an appointment if necessary.
The offices are staffed from Monday to Friday from 10am to 4pm. Alternatively you can email on tralee@citinfo.ie or log on to www.citizensinformation.ie for further information.
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