Record 30,000 students to receive first grant payments

A record 30,000 third-level students were due to receive their first grant payments from Student Universal Support Ireland (Susi) yesterday.

The payments totalling €9.6m will be of particular help to those who have had to pay rent deposits and other up-front costs at the beginning of term. The figure compares favourably to the 26,500 who got paid in Susi’s first run of payments worth €8.5m in 2015, the first year that student grants were paid in September.

The agency, part of City of Dublin Education and Training Board, has received 102,000 applications so far this year. While nearly 43,000 are renewal cases, people who were receiving support from Susi in the last college year, more than 59,000 are from new applicants for 2016.