Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 30 March 2023
101. Deputy Peadar Tóibín asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the number of persons that availed of the third-level access course in each year since it was established. [15229/23]
View answerMy Department is committed to the continued roll-out of supports and targeted initiatives to tackle educational disadvantage and support equity of access, participation and success in both further and higher education.
Third level access programmes are specific to each Higher Education Institution (HEI).
The HEA provide certain data surrounding the targets and KPIs identified in the National Access Plan (2022-2028) but they do not have or collect the data requested by the deputy.
The National Access Plan (2022-2028) commits to the collection over the course of the Plan of data on key priority groups from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds, students who are members of Irish Traveller and Roma Communities as well as students with disabilities including intellectual disabilities.
