Vol. 559 No. 5
242 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Education and Science the amount available under the national development plan to tackle disadvantage at third level; the amount spent to date; the measures involved; the cost of each respectively; the way in which he intends to spend the rest of the fund; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26823/02]
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 Michael 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.
The measures which are funded under the third level access fund are: the fund for students with disabilities; the student assistance/access fund; the millennium partnership fund for disadvantage; the special rates of maintenance grant; the establishment of the national office for equity of access to third level education start-up funding in 2000 for access officer posts within the technological sector.
The fund for students with disabilities, which is administered by the Department of Education and Science, aims to assist students with disabilities in third level institutions and PLC colleges to participate in further and higher education. Grants are provided for students who have serious sensory, physical and/or communicative disabilities. Financial support is 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, due to their financial circumstances, be 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 on in college.
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.
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.
A key recommendation of the action group on access to third level education 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.
