Department may favour student grant system that reduces red tape

The Department of Education has said is open to a student grant system where applicants might not have to submit a raft of documents in order to make it more efficient.

Although the department says that protecting the €380m of public funding set aside for the grants scheme would be a priority, it is willing to consider the idea put forward in a review of the difficulties during the first year of the new centralised operation of the grants.

The report by independent consultants Accenture identified the time spent by City of Dublin Vocational Education Committee trying to deal with delays in getting enough staff to run Student Universal Support Ireland (Susi) last year as a key factor.

Accenture held up development of warning systems and monitoring systems that might have allowed for earlier flagging of subsequent problems that caused delays and backlogs for large proportions of the 69,000-plus applicants.

The review recommended measures to make the system more efficient, including consideration of a trust-based eligibility model. It said this is used effectively in a number of countries, meaning detailed documentation is not required as proof in order to progress a grant application.

“Instead, awarded applicants are audited with appropriate sanctions where applicants are not found to be eligible,” said the review.

However, it also warned that detailed analysis should be carried out first to “minimise potential exposure”.

It also recommended piloting such a scheme around requirements for grant eligibility, such as residency, which are the subject of few refusals but which require a lot of documents.

It suggested the idea be considered by CDVEC in consultation with the department, although it is ultimately for the department to decide such policy issues.

“The department is not averse to exploring with grant awarding authorities the adoption of measures, including risk-based ex-post verification of some eligibility criteria, which may lead to more efficient administration of the grants system while ensuring the appropriate spending of public monies,” a department spokesperson told the Irish Examiner.