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Irish Independent

Cork Councillors say SUSI grant process ‘is complicated and inefficient'

The funding body provides grants for students studying for PLC, undergraduate and postgraduate courses in Ireland as well as the UK and the EU. Almost 70,000 applications have been received for the 2025/26 academic year. However, Cork County Councillors have called the grant application process cumbersome, inefficient and unnecessarily complicated. At a recent meeting of Cork County Council, Cllr Audrey Buckley put forward a motion calling on the Education Minister to review the application process. The Carrigaline Councillor said it should be simplified, particularly the income verification part. Integrating that with the Revenue Online Service would help, she said. 'It's not working, it's not fit for purpose, it's very complex, it's ineffective. When you fill out the SUSI grant, I'd say probably 80% of the time it shoots back to you because you could be missing something very simple that you could have found on the Revenue Online system,' Cllr Buckley said. Cllr Sinead Sheppard said a number of people came to her clinic last year seeking help with the application. 'We're people that fill out applications and fill out forms all day long. And even it took me a while to try and get my head around that grant to help people in the process of filling them out. It's so difficult, it's like they don't want people to continue filling it out.' 'It's the most cumbersome, leadránach and drawn-out application that you can possibly have, they nearly ask what you had for dinner yesterday. And then the difficulty about it is when you get to the other end and you pass it, you must turn around and then do it next year and the year after again,' said Cllr Finbarr Harrington. Cllr Sheila O'Callaghan said she can't see why the application process can't be linked with the information held by the Revenue Commissioners: 'Just to simplify it, the facts and the figures are there, and it would streamline the whole process for people and take the stress out of it.' Several Councillors also called for the grant's income assessment to be made on the basis of net rather than gross income. On the foot of Cllr Buckley's motion, Cork County Council agreed to write to the Education Minister to request an urgent review of the application process. SUSI told the Irish Independent that it "conducts ongoing customer satisfaction surveys to help us better understand our applicants' needs. Since opening for applications for academic year 2025/26, the application form has received an applicant satisfaction rating of over 90%." Around 70% of applicants don't need to provide supporting documentation, thanks to data sharing agreements with the Revenue Commissioners, the Department of Social Protection and the CAO, SUSI said. The grant awarding authority pointed out that its support desk is available by phone, email and social media to help applicants through the process. Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.