Substantial rise in SUSI applications
Minister Seán Canney has welcomed the strong rise in student grant applications to SUSI for the 2025/26 academic year.
The increase follows improvements to the Student Grant Scheme announced in Budget 2025, which expanded eligibility and raised income thresholds to help more families access financial support.
Budget 2025 introduced a range of measures to expand support, including an increase to all maintenance and student contribution grant thresholds by 15%; a rise in the income threshold for the special rate of grant from €26,200 to €27,400, and an increase in the income deduction for student earnings outside of term time to €8,424.
Already, more than 7,500 additional applications have been received compared to this time last year, with SUSI on track to process close to 110,000 applications in 2025.
Following last year’s budget, undergraduate students whose household’s reckonable income is under €115,000 may now be eligible for financial support.
Minister Canney said that the SUSI scheme plays a vital role in easing the financial burden on families while also maintaining the Free Fees Initiative, which covers tuition for over 140,000 students annually.
Pictured: Welcome... Minister Seán Canney.