Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 15 December 2022
274. Deputy Róisín Shortall asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the position regarding the programme for Government commitment to provide additional supports for school and college students who are homeless, resident in family hubs or in direct provision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [63091/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy 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.
The new National Access Plan which was launched on 31st August 2022 aims to support inclusion and diversity in our student body, address the wider struggles and challenges for students, and deliver sustainable progress. It recognises the needs of vulnerable learners, the most marginalised and those with special and additional needs. The new plan identifies people with experience of homelessness, Migrants, refugees and those from ethnic minorities as well as those who have experience of the care system as some of the priority groups for action under the Plan.
Delivery of the Plan is supported by the PATH programme, which provides a range of supports to priority groups including bursaries under the 1916 scholarship scheme and support for people from target groups in accessing initial teacher education. The programme also supports clusters of higher education institutions in attracting under-represented students.
There are also other strands to the PATH programme which support universal design for students in higher education, including autistic students, enhancement of opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities and a new pilot scheme aimed at students from Traveller and Roma communities.
Benefits under these strands may also benefit those individuals mentioned by the deputy. In working to address the issues of students who are homeless, resident in family hubs or in direct provision, I acknowledge that there is complexities of gathering data on these priority groups. As we lack the baseline data for these learners, specific targets have not yet been set, but we will be working to develop better data in this area to help us understand their particular issues and to better target interventions.
The International Protection Student Scheme (IPSS) was introduced in 2015. This scheme provides supports for eligible students pursuing post leaving certificate, undergraduate and postgraduate courses and is targeted at three particular groups of students (asylum applicants, subsidiary protection applicants and leave to remain applicants).
The IPSS contains many similarities to the statutory based Student Grant Scheme. These similarities include similar grant rates, means test thresholds, eligible payments for the special rate of grant and income disregards. The Direct Provision Allowance paid to protection applicants in the direct provision centres is included both as an eligible payment for the special rate of grant and as an income disregard.
A number of changes to the IPSS have been made since 2015. These include the removal of the requirement for prospective applicants to have attended three academic years in the Irish school system and to have obtained the Leaving Certificate in the State , and the scheme was extended Postgraduate students for the first time in 2021/22. SUSI also took over administration of the scheme for the first time for the 2022/23 academic year.
Students who qualify under the IPSS will benefit from the significant cost of living package that I secured through Budget 2023 for third level students which includes a one-off extra payment for all student maintenance grant recipients in December 2022, a one-off increase of €1,000 to the postgraduate fee contribution and an increase of between 10% and 14% to maintenance grant rate rates effective from 1 January 2023. The only cost of living measure that does not apply to students under the IPS Scheme is the reduction of €1,000 in the student as students eligible under this scheme are not part of the free fees scheme. They have their full undergraduate fee paid up to a maximum of €6,270.
In further education, there is a wide range of free or heavily subsidised programmes available in flexible formats, full time, part time and blended. At regional and local level, the Education and Training Boards (ETBs) work closely with other agencies such as the Department of Social Protection and, in some areas, the local homeless support services (such as Simon Communities) to help address local needs.
The FET Strategy highlights the need to target and prioritise vulnerable groups, and several ETBs cite examples of specific activities and targeted programmes related to homelessness as part of their ongoing service delivery plans. The ETB sector is engaged in a number of initiatives to support homeless people, for example the CDETB Foundations Project – involves CDETB working in partnership with the homeless services and other agencies to increase access to education for those who are homeless.
Access to Apprenticeship (ATA) supports the transition of young people (16-24 years old) from disadvantaged backgrounds into an apprenticeship scheme. Many of students have experienced, or come from communities that experience poverty, trauma, addiction, long-term unemployment or homelessness. It is a 12-week full-time programme delivered by the College of Engineering & Built Environment on the Bolton Street campus of TU Dublin and also by the Dept. of Built Environment on the TUS Moylish campus, Limerick city.
