Dáil Éireann debate -
Wednesday, 20 Nov 2002

Vol. 557 No. 5

Written Answers. - Third Level Education.

Seán Crowe

Question:

128 Mr. Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Science the specific measures which will be taken by his Department to encourage more students from the areas identified by RAPID in the Tallaght area to continue their education beyond secondary school level. [22768/02]

Minister for Education and Science (Mr. N. Dempsey)

There is a provision within the national development plan for a third level access fund totalling €120 million, over the period 2000 to 2006, to tackle disadvantage at third level. In line with a 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 of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, mature students and students with a disability at third level. The action group's report was published in July 2001. To date a number of measures have been taken in response to some of the main recommendations in the report.

A new millennium partnership fund for disadvantage was introduced with effect from 2001. The fund provides assistance to partnership companies and community groups to develop their support schemes for students from disadvantaged families. Area Development Management Limited under whose aegis the partnerships operate, accepted my Department's request that it would administer the fund for the 2001-02 academic year. The total allocation for the 2001-02 academic year was €1.2 million, with 37 partnerships and community groups receiving allocations from the fund.

For 2002-03, I have increased the provision for the fund to €2 million. ADM Limited which is continuing to administer the fund, has notified 50 area partnerships and community groups of their allocations in respect of the 2002-03 academic year. In this regard, Tallaght partnership has been allocated €80,000 in respect the 2002-03 academic year.

Special rates of maintenance grant, usually referred to as "top-up" grants, payable to disadvantaged grant holders, were introduced with effect from the 2000-01 academic year. Following a recent review, I increased the annual income thresholds for the special rates by 32%, a significant increase. For 2002-03, I also increased the special rate of grant to €4,000 for students residing more than 15 miles from college and €1,600 for students resident within 15 miles of college. This is equivalent to a top-up of €1,490 and €596, respectively, for eligible students on the ordinary maintenance grant. As a result of the review, it is expected that the number of students qualifying for the top-up grant in 2002-03 will double to 7,000 students.

Financial support is also available to students, in approved third level institutions, through the student assistance-access fund. The objective of the fund is to assist students who might be unable to continue their third level studies due to their financial circumstances. 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 on in college.

The report of the action group on access to third level education sets out a co-ordinated framework of actions required to improve equity of access to third level. The group considered that a single co-ordinating body was essential to realise the framework. Accordingly, a key recommendation of the group was that a national office for equity of access to higher education be established to ensure the effective implementation of many of the recommendations in the report.

I have now given approval for the establishment of the national office for equity of access to higher education within the Higher Education Authority. I anticipate that the national office will facilitate the aim of increasing third level access by the three target groups – students from disadvantaged backgrounds, students with a disability and mature, second-chance, students – in partnership with my Department, the third level institutions and other stakeholders and agencies.