I compliment the recent changes made by the Minister in the budget to increase the income thresholds for the SUSI support and to put more families in a position to get the SUSI grant. Will the Minister's Department review the method used to calculate commuting distances for the SUSI adjacency grant eligibility?

Sentiment score: 0.61

I welcome the fact the Minister has outlined a method that prioritises being fair, whereby we give every option to ensure the detail is clear for the family about having that non-adjacent categorisation. There is one thing we should examine, namely, the household income threshold. This should reflect in some way the institution the student wishes to attend. If we take my own example, I am fortunate to live in Galway city and my children have a wide range of options to attend third level education on our doorstep through University of Galway and HEU. However, for somebody who might live beyond the 30 km radius in Connemara, on the Aran Islands or in some part of west Mayo or the midlands, the cost of attending education for that family and the child is more significant than it is for my children, yet my household income is assessed in the same way as the household income of that family. We should look at income thresholds in that respect.

Sentiment score: 0.37

I welcome that. Again, it contributes to the impression I have of the Minister in terms of innovation and what he is bringing to this Department to make sure more people can access third level education and that no opportunity is denied. To reiterate, there is some inequity in that household income is assessed irrespective of a student's adjacency or proximity to the third level institution. That is something we can look at it. We must recognise it is going to cost some people more . I acknowledge that we recognise that in the provision of the grant, and I fully welcome what the Minister has outlined about increasing the income threshold and the grant this year. That is all very progressive and I hope we continue in that vein, but there is something worth examining in the household income threshold for me in comparison with somebody who does not live as near to a third level institution.

Sentiment score: 0.33