There's been a reduction in the number of students eligible for the SUSI grant in the Shannonside region.
Figures from the department of higher education, research, science, and technology show that Roscommon has experienced the biggest decrease in eligible students.
The SUSI grant scheme provides students in third level education with a grant to cover admission fees and living costs. The rates given to a student are dependent on in the income of a student's household and whether anyone in the household is in receipt of government assistance. For the 2022/23 academic year, 764 students in Longford were eligible with processing still in progress, a reduction of 156 from the 2021/22 figure of 920. Leitrim is experiencing a consistent decrease in eligible students. 751 were eligible in 2020/2021, 674 in 2021/2022, and 588 so far for the 2022/2023. Roscommon is also experiencing a decrease with 1137 students eligible so far for this academic year, 1295 for last academic year, and 1339 for 2020 into 2021.
Over 65 thousand students are currently eligible for a SUSI grant nationwide, while 17,460 applications have been rejected so far this year.
