I have today called for an examination of the SUSI system and an investigation of the reasons why the number of Third Level Grants has fallen so radically all along the western seaboard and throughout rural counties across the country.
I believe that in the interests of balance, the Department of Education needs to question the reason why so many rural counties have had their number of Third Level grants reduced for a second year running.
The number of grants in Roscommon fell by over 7%, in Leitrim the number of grants are reduced by almost 9% while in Mayo the total number of grants decreased by 18.4% while the number in Sligo is over 17%.
“It is important that we establish that the SUSI system is working fairly for the benefit of all our young people and we must ensure that rural families are not disadvantaged in any way”