I move amendment No. 1:
To delete all words after "That Dáil Éireann" and substitute the following:
"commends the Government on its performance to date in achieving an expansion of third level education places, in significantly increasing investment in third level education, in progressing a range of targeted measures aimed at developing the capacity of higher education to meet wider social and economic needs, and in developing the range of targeted initiatives aimed at improving access to and reducing attrition rates within the third level sector; and
endorses the Government's objective to maximise the impact of public investment in third level education in terms of equitable participation and access from all sectors of society."
I wish Deputy O'Sullivan all the best in her new role as Labour spokesperson on education. No doubt we will clash in future, as we will tonight, but I look forward to working with her. My Department will give her any assistance it can by way of briefing or otherwise.
Education is a right, not a privilege. Unless we address the inequities in our system, third level education will remain a pipe dream for many of our young people, including the PAYE workers referred to earlier. I am pleased to have the opportunity afforded to me by this motion to focus on the Government's commitment to the development of the third level education sector in an inclusive and equitable manner. The record of investment in, and development of, the third level sector since 1997 by the Government has been outstanding by any objective measure. Full-time student numbers at third level exceeded 126,000 in 2000-01, representing an increase of 19,000, or 17%, on the numbers in 1996-97. Enrolments for part-time students increased by 41% in the same period. The net overall expenditure in the third level sector has increased by 95% since 1998.
The most recent OECD study, Education at a Glance 2002, which was published last week, has pointed to the significant increase in expenditure per student in tertiary education in Ireland over the second half of the last decade. Ireland ranks second of 27 OECD countries in terms of the increase achieved. The manifestation of this increased investment can be seen on a number of fronts. The capacity of the sector to meet the skill needs of the economy has been developed through substantial targeted funding to provide new places in areas of identified need, such as ICT and health skills and through a number of innovative approaches to addressing skill needs while simultaneously providing enhanced opportunities for adult and mature learners. As part of these initiatives, 1,500 students have participated in accelerated technician programmes in the institutes of technology.
Rapid development of the research infrastructure in the third level sector has been achieved through the unprecedented levels of new investment. Cumulative investment under the programme for research in third level institutions, launched in 1998, and other research pro grammes, amounts to almost €150 million since 1998. This is exclusive of the research expenditure under the Higher Education Authority block grant which is estimated at €100 million this year. In addition to this, the establishment by the Government of a science and technology investment fund to develop technology at all levels ranging from primary schools to advanced research, has provided for an investment of €38 million for equipment renewal grants in the third level sector, €57 million for research and development, €76 million for skills needs and €102 million for infrastructural developments. Furthermore, a range of targeted initiatives are being funded by the Higher Education Authority to address priority issues such as attrition rates, participation rates and the quality of teaching within the sector.
Notwithstanding this record of acknowledged and ongoing achievement, the issue of equity of access to higher education remains a priority. The HEA-commissioned report by Professor Patrick Clancy on access to third level education found substantial variability in the rates of admission to higher education. The report concluded that this variability reflects the socio-economic pattern of the population. In terms of admission rates by socio-economic groups, the report shows that there has been a significant improvement in the proportion of persons from the two lowest socio-economic groups entering higher education. In 1980, only 3% of persons from the unskilled manual workers group entered higher education and that increased to 12% in 1992 and 21% in 1998. In 1980, only 9% of persons coming from the semi-skilled manual workers group entered higher education and that increased to 19% in 1992 and 23% in 1998. Part of this increase in admission rates derived from the doubling of the overall admission rates to higher education since 1980.
When the Government first came to office in 1997, spending on third level access measures totalled €508,000. Last year that figure had risen to €15.3 million and it is anticipated it will be €24 million this year. By any standards that represents a quantum leap in the commitment of resources. In 1997 third level access measures were confined to just two funds, a special fund for students with disabilities and a hardship fund that was allocated to third level colleges for students experiencing financial hardship. That has been significantly developed through additional initiatives for special rates of maintenance grants for disadvantaged students, commonly referred to as top-up grants, and the millennium partnership fund for disadvantage, together with the allocation of an access officer post to each institute of technology in 2000.
Provision for the special fund for students with disability, which is ESF-aided, has increased from €277,000 in 1997 to €2.619 million in 2001, an increase of 845%. The purpose of this fund is to provide students with serious physical and-or sensory disabilities with grant assistance towards the cost of special equipment, materials, technological aids, targeted transport services, personal assistance and sign language interpreters. The number of approved applications increased from 511 in 2000 to 809 in 2001.
Financial support for students is also available in approved third level institutions through the student assistance access fund, formerly known as the hardship fund. The objective of this ESF-aided fund is to assist students who, due to their financial circumstances, are unable to continue their third level studies. The fund is administered on a discretionary basis by each third level institution and provides direct financial support to disadvantaged students to assist them to remain in college. The provision for this fund has increased significantly from €231,000 in the 1997-98 academic year to €7.49 million in the 2001-02 academic year.
Since 1997, therefore, there have been very significant increases in the funding for measures that were already in operation. However, the Government has also been responsible for introducing significant new measures to combat disadvantage. There is a provision within the national development plan for a third level access fund totalling €120 million over the period 2000-06 to tackle disadvantage at third level.
In line with the commitment under the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness, my predecessor, Deputy Woods, established the action group on access to third level education to advise on the development of a co-ordinated strategy to increase participation at third level of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, mature students and students with a disability. The action group's report was published in July 2001 and its most significant spending recommendation concerned the introduction of special rates of maintenance grants for disadvantaged students, commonly referred to as "top-up grants" which were introduced, with retrospective effect, from the 2000-01 academic year. My Department recently carried out a review of these special rates of maintenance grants. Following this review in July 2002, I increased the annual income threshold for special rates by 32% and also extended the eligibility criteria.