Over 100 students still waiting on grants decision

Over 100 college students who applied for grants for the last academic year are still waiting on a decision about their applications.

The continuing delay from the Student Universal Support Ireland (Susi) may mean that students will not receive their exam results and will be left unable to make decisions to travel or unsure about their academic future.

These students are also unable to apply for a renewal grant for the coming year.

Jacinta Stewart of the City of Dublin VEC, which manages Susi, told the Oireachtas Committee on Education today that 118 students are still awaiting their decision.

Officials from the CDVEC answered questions about the delays last year and the plans in place to ensure a better run system for the coming academic year.

They explained that they received almost 70,000 applications last year and, though they provided full training, they were still dealing with 98 per cent brand new staff and human errors were made.

They also said to ensure quality and to maintain consistency on grant amounts a new automated system would be in place this year.

Officials expect 75,000 new applications and 25,000 renewal applications in the coming academic year, giving them nearly 50 per cent increase on last year. However, they said they are now equipped with sufficient staff to deal with the applications.

A new system of obtaining banking details will also be in place to reduce delays. Susi will now be seeking banking details at the start of the application process instead of at the end.

The CDVEC were also questioned about the fact that almost 40 per cent of applications were considered ineligible. Officials assured that while some of these were down to the fact that applications did not meet the criteria, many of the applications considered ineligible were applications that were withdrawn.