When Faye Ní Dhomhnaill turned 21, her life changed overnight. A row at home – the kind that had been brewing for years – finally tipped into a rupture. She left, telling herself it would be temporary. Weeks stretched into months, then years. By the time she returned to her studies in Galway, she was on her own.
“Overnight, I had to figure out rent, bills, food, everything, without that safety net.”
Like thousands of students each year, Ní Dhomhnaill depended on a Susi grant to keep her in college. Susi, or Student Universal Support Ireland, is the main state financial support scheme for higher education.
For many students it is the difference between staying in college and dropping out. The scheme is built on the assumption that students are supported by their families, and so eligibility is largely assessed on household income. Applicants under the age of 23 are considered “dependent” by default, unless they can prove otherwise. That link to family income is what makes Susi so difficult to access for those who are estranged.
When Ní Dhomhnaill told Susi she was no longer in contact with her family, she hit a wall.
“They kept saying: you don’t have a Tusla document or a
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