229. Deputy Naoise Ó Muirí asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science whether he will review the SUSI eligibility criteria that classify mature students living in the parental home as dependent students for grant assessment purposes; and whether consideration is being given to assessing such applicants on the basis of their own income and financial circumstances rather than parental income. [67256/26]

In general for student grant purposes students are categorised according to their circumstances either as students dependent on their parent(s) or legal guardian(s), or as independent mature students.

A student may be assessed as an independent student if:-

• they have attained the age of 23 on the 1st of January of the year of first entry or re-entry to an approved further education course or an approved higher education course and;

• have not been ordinarily resident with their parent(s) from the previous 1st October.

Otherwise, they are assessed as a dependent student i.e. assessed with reference to parental income.

Applicants who do not meet the criteria to be assessed as an independent student for grant purposes, or who cannot supply the necessary documentation to establish independent living for the required period, may still apply to the awarding authority SUSI to have their grant eligibility assessed as a dependent student.

In examining changes to eligibility criteria for the Scheme, including changes to how applicants are classified, I have to consider how a change might impact on a particular cohort when compared against the impact of a wide range of other competing policy demands across the sector.  I also have to have regard to the availability of resources in an Estimates process.

The Student Grant Scheme recognises the challenges faced by students in accessing education. In recognition of the additional costs for students who live further away from their institution Budget 2026 increased all non-adjacent maintenance grants by at least €200 from September 2026.

In addition, Budget 2026 saw:

• A permanent reduction to the student contribution charge by €500

• A permanent increase to the Post Graduate Fee Contribution Grant by €500 from €4,000 to €4,500

• An increase in the income threshold for the special rate of grant from €27,400 to €28,600 for the 2026/27 academic year

The income threshold for the €500 student contribution grant increased from €115,000 to €120,000. Combined with the permanent fee reduction, this means that eligible undergraduate students whose households earning are under €120,000 will pay no more than €2,000 towards the student contribution charge in the 2026/27 academic year.

The Student Grant Scheme is kept under continuous review, and every year, my Department publishes an options paper setting out costed reforms and changes to the scheme.

I published this year's paper on 8th September, Funding the Future: An Annual Options Paper on reducing the Cost of Education, in advance of Budget 2027 in order to inform public debate on what options should be prioritised in the context of the Estimates process.  eur05.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.gov.ie%2Fen%2Fdepartment-of-further-and-higher-education-research-innovation-and-science%2Fpublications%2Ffunding-the-future-an-annual-options-paper-on-reducing-the-cost-of-education%2F&data=05%7C02%7Clisa_fenlon%40dfheris.gov.ie%7Cedc156824ce3476ce4f308df0dab0d90%7Cf5c0d15a869347e3b506b1617300787f%7C0%7C0%7C639244700465418374%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJFbXB0eU1hcGkiOnRydWUsIlYiOiIwLjAuMDAwMCIsIlAiOiJXaW4zMiIsIkFOIjoiTWFpbCIsIldUIjoyfQ%3D%3D%7C0%7C%7C%7C&sdata=s9edDC2AmYvZ7p4t6N2lotkTydfwxxbl%2BPc78wc5XDY%3D&reserved=0