I want to shine a light on an anomaly that exists with regard to eligibility for the Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, grant. I refer to mature students, if you like, who continue to live at home with their parents for obvious reasons because they cannot acquire a property of their own. The parents' income is assessed as part of the eligibility, which is a little bit of a burden on the applicant. The same applies to students returning home from abroad. If they do not have private accommodation, or their own accommodation, they are assessed under the parents' means, which is a little bit unfair.

The issue of assessment for SUSI is a complex one in regard to the scenarios the Deputy described - a mature student over 23 years of age or an emigrant returning home. Perhaps it needs some investigation and revisiting. We are preparing budget 2027 at the moment. That work is under way. It will be guided by fairness and getting the most help to the most people. I will take on board the Deputy's comments and feed them into the discussion. If he wants to send me a note afterwards, I would be happy to take it and have a look at any examples the Deputy might want to highlight.