82,000 students lodge SUSI grant claims

Student grant applications are significantly up on this time last year as 82,000 people have lodged claims to ensure being prioritised for payment.

However, Student Universal Support Ireland (Susi) refuses to provide figures on how well it is progressing applications, almost three months after they started to arrive.

The deadline for applications to Susi was midnight last Thursday, but it wasextended until midnight Monday after some applicants could not use the online application system for two hours on Thursday night.