Fine Gael TD for Mayo John O’Mahony has called for the introduction of a tracking system to help college students monitor the progress of their college grant application. Deputy O’Mahony made his suggestion in Dáil Eireann last week and also called on Minister for Education, Ruairí Quinn, to ensure that applications are processed as soon as possible.
The processing of student grants for new entrants has been centralised this year under one body — Student Universal Support Ireland (SUSI ). This will replace the 66 grant-awarding bodies which were previously responsible for student grants. Local authorities and VECs are continuing to deal with renewal students until they complete their existing courses. Sixty five thousand applications have been received by SUSI this year, of which approximately 35,000 are expected to succeed. SUSI is aiming to award all successful applicants before the end of December.
Deputy O’Mahony said: “This time of year can be particularly stressful for students and their parents. Student grant applications are a major issue and delays in grant approvals can cause financial pressure. I believe that it would be extremely helpful for applicants to be able to monitor the progress of their grants. The tracking system for passport applicants recently introduced by the Passport Office has been very successful and could serve as an excellent model for how the student application system could work.”
