883. Deputy John Paul O'Shea asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of students from County Cork in receipt of SUSI maintenance grants in the 2025-2026 academic years; the average processing time for applications; the measures being taken to ensure timely grant payments to students at the beginning of the academic year; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51104/26]

The main support available to assist students with the cost of attending higher education is:

• The Student Grant Scheme which provides grant assistance to eligible students attending an approved course in an approved institution who meet the prescribed conditions of funding, including those relating to nationality, residency, previous academic attainment and means.

• A Part-Time Fee Scheme for Specified Undergraduate Courses which provides fee support to eligible part-time students attending specified publicly funded undergraduate courses leading to a major award. This includes specified in person and blended/hybrid courses and its aim is to provide additional flexibility in respect of course provision to students who are socio-economically disadvantaged.

It is important to note that the decision on eligibility for a student grant is a matter, in the first instance, for SUSI to determine.

I can provide the Deputy with the requested information as follows:

The number of students with a home address Co. Cork in receipt of SUSI maintenance grants for 2025/2026 academic year were 5,948. This data is as of 1 July 2026. Please note that this figure is likely to change as SUSI continues to process applications for academic year 2025/26.

SUSI is now accepting applications for academic year 2026/27. The mean time for the initial assessment of an application in academic year 2026/27 is just over one week with the time being just over two and a half weeks for the assessment of returned documentation. This information is based on applications received by the end of May.

To receive a maintenance grant payment, awarded students must be registered with their college and their college must confirm this registration with SUSI. The awarded student must provide their bank account details through their SUSI student portal where they can also track the status of their payment.

Prior to the first scheduled maintenance grant payment, SUSI runs a direct information campaign to inform students awarded a maintenance grant of the payment arrangements. A payment schedule outlining the monthly payment dates for the upcoming academic year is published on SUSI’s website.

To ensure students receive their first payment as soon as possible, SUSI makes weekly payments from the first scheduled payment date and continues to do so throughout the academic year.

To ensure the efficient return of registration details between SUSI and the Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), SUSI hosts a series of Technical Working Group meetings with staff from each of the HEIs in advance of the first scheduled payment.