The Union of Students in Ireland (USI) has voted to lobby for the introduction of alternative methods to prove that students are estranged from their parents or guardians when applying for the SUSI grant.
Eligibility for SUSI is based in part on a student’s family income, if they are classified as a dependent. Currently, students estranged from their parents or guardians must still apply as dependent students, but they can note on their application that they are estranged from them and must submit evidence such as a court order or letter from a social worker or TUSLA to prove this and be assessed in their own right.
A motion passed at USI Congress yesterday noted that the documentation needed to prove estrangement has “proven to be difficult to secure from students across the country, leaving them ineligible to apply for SUSI without submitting records from their parents/guardians”.
“The SUSI maintenance grant has helped thousands of students access education, however there are still some barriers”, the motion said.
Several speakers told Congress of their own experiences of attempting to prove estrangement, which they said was a cumbersome and upsetting process.
The motion mandates the USI Vice Presidents of Equality and Citizenship, Welfare and Academic Affairs “to work with SUSI and TUSLA to investigate other avenues to prove estrangement for students”.
It also mandates that the relevant members of the USI’s Coiste Gnó “should aim to begin lobbying prior to the commencement of semester one”.
Last October’s budget saw the SUSI grant expanded for the first time in over a decade. The maintenance payment was increased by €200 and the eligibility threshold was increased by €1000.
In a press statement at the time, USI President Clare Austick welcomed the expansion of SUSI: “We are glad there has been some increase to the SUSI maintenance grant”.
Although she noted that “there is a long way to go to get us back to the grant being in line with the cost of living.”
Austick also described the budget as showing a “lack of ambition”.
“USI has highlighted time and time again that students need to see the end of the €3,000 Student Contribution Charge and a plan made to implement a publicly-funded system of third-level education”, she said.
