A Year of Progress: Ministers Lawless and Harkin Highlight 2025 Achievements in Further and Higher Education, Apprenticeships, Research and Innovation
-
From: Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science
- Published on: 30 December 2025
- Last updated on: 30 December 2025
2025 has been a year of significant progress for the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, with developments across research, education, skills and infrastructure. From reducing costs for students, expanding places in high-demand courses, strengthening apprenticeships, and securing record funding for research and infrastructure to support learners and communities nationwide.
Reflecting on the progress over the past year Minister James Lawless said:
“2025 has been a year of delivery and impact. My Department is responsible for more than 60 commitments under the Programme for Government, and I am proud of the significant progress we have made on these priorities over the past 12 months.
“This progress has been driven by major investment in research and innovation, education, and infrastructure, aligned with our strategic priorities and focused on creating opportunities for learners and communities nationwide.
“Above all, these achievements reflect our commitment to strengthening the education system and empowering people, who remain Ireland’s greatest national resource.”
Key Achievements in 2025 include:
Making Education More Affordable
- First permanent €500 reduction in the student contribution fee since free fees were introduced in 1995.
- Budget 2026 will expand SUSI eligibility and increase maintenance supports.
Expanding Places in High-Demand Courses
- Over 340 extra places added in medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, physiotherapy, and veterinary medicine.
- 17 new tertiary degree programmes approved for 2025/26.
Investing in Infrastructure
- €4.55bn secured under the National Development Plan to strengthen research, innovation and education facilities nationwide.
- Driving World-class Research
Ireland joined CERN and signed the European Quantum Pact.
- €1bn milestone reached in Horizon Europe funding.
- €750m INSPIRE Research Infrastructure Programme launched.
Boosting Skills and apprenticeships
- Highest ever increase investment in core funding since the establishment of DFHERIS of €79m in Budget 2026 bringing the total core investment to over €410 million.
- Apprentice numbers up 5% to more than 31,000 across 78 programmes.
- Ireland’s first All-Island Apprenticeship launched jointly with Northern Ireland.
Delivering Student Accommodation and Campus Capacity
- €67m secured for new student accommodation at UCD.
- Six PPP buildings operational and five under construction, creating space for 8,500 additional students.
Improving Inclusion and access
- Supported Path 4 provision for learners with intellectual disabilities.
- Student Assistance Fund increased to €19.3m.
- Increased funding for student mental health and wellbeing and for the Fund for Students with Disabilities which provides support to 22,000 students with disabilities.
Minister of State, Marian Harkin, with special responsibility for Further Education, Apprenticeship, Construction and Climate Skills, said: “We are seeing strong engagement in further education and training, with almost 213,000 learners enrolled in FET at the end of September 2025, an increase of 3,600 learners versus last year.
“The number of apprentices in training also rose by 5% to more than 31,000 in November 2025, across 78 apprenticeship programmes.
“Budget 2026 secured €79 million for apprenticeship delivery, bringing total investment to over €410 million—more than double the funding since 2020.
“These milestones demonstrate the real impact of our work in creating opportunities, building skills across the country, and preparing our workforce for the future, and we look forward to continuing this progress and supporting even more learners and apprentices in the year ahead.”
Minister Lawless continued:
“2025 saw continued growth in higher education demand, with CAO applications rising by 7% and more than 4,600 additional students sitting the Leaving Certificate. Overall, enrolments reached 278,880, a 5% increase on last year and the largest growth since 2020.
“Of the 59,000 CAO applicants in Round One, 80% received offers within their top three preferences, and over half secured their first-choice course. This reflects strong student engagement and the breadth of options available across our system.
“Behind these numbers is a year of hard work, my Department brought 46 memos to Cabinet, advancing key decisions on education, research, and skills. Parliamentary engagement was equally strong, with over 2,000 PQs processed to date. These efforts ensure that policy translates into real opportunities for learners and communities nationwide.”
NOTES
Student Accommodation
- €67m has been secured to deliver 493 new student accommodation beds at University College Dublin.
- The Design Guide for State-Sponsored Student Accommodation was published in 2025, with a new Student Accommodation Strategy to be published shortly.
Cost of Education
- The Budget also provided the largest-ever increase in the SUSI income threshold for the student contribution grant and increased the non-adjacent maintenance grant supports from September 2026 with a pro-rata maintenance grant increase in January 2026 for students this academic year.
- Funding for the Student Assistance Fund increased to €19.3m for the 2025/26 academic year.
- Core funding for student mental health and wellbeing will rise to €6m from 2026.
Progress on Course Places
- The number of tertiary programmes doubled from 19 in 2024 to 38 in 2025, with further expansion planned.
- 17 new tertiary degree programmes were approved for the 2025/26 academic year.
- New and expanded programmes in medicine, nursing, pharmacy, dentistry, physiotherapy and veterinary medicine commenced in 2025, with further programmes coming on stream in 2026.
- Over 340 additional places were added in high-demand health courses, including 20 new medicine places.
- Higher Education Public Private Partnership (PPP) programme delivery continues, with six buildings operational and five under construction, providing capacity for 8,500 additional student places.
- 193 students are enrolled in Path 4 programmes for learners with intellectual disabilities.
Research & Science
- Ireland joined CERN as an Associate Member State and signed the European Quantum Pact.
- Ireland reached a €1bn milestone in Horizon Europe funding.
- €750m INSPIRE Research Infrastructure Investment Programme was launched.
- €63.84m was allocated to accelerate research commercialisation, with €23.6m provided under Frontiers for the Future and €23m to support early-career researchers.
- €5m was secured for an AI Factory Antenna, with procurement for the next national high-performance computing infrastructure to commence shortly.
National Development Plan (NDP)
- €4.55bn was secured under the NDP Review, including:
- €2.45bn for research and innovation, and
- €2.1bn for higher and further education infrastructure.
- Six buildings (Bundle 1) under the Higher Education Public Private Partnership (HE PPP) programme were completed and became operational by end Q2 2025, construction cost of c. €250 million ex VAT. The contracts for the five remaining projects, Bundle 2, were signed in June 2025 with construction commenced immediately, construction cost of c. €380 million ex VAT.
- Progress continues under the FET College Major Capital Programme, with eight projects now at pre-tender stage and site acquisition advancing for remaining proposals.
Apprenticeships
- Budget 2026 Budget delivered over €410 million investment in apprenticeships, more than double 2020 levels.
- Apprentice numbers increased by 5% from end 2024 to November 2025.
- €20.5m was announced to expand apprenticeships across higher education.
Budget 2026
- Budget 2026 provided permanent supports for students and families, including:
- Permanent reduction in student contribution fees.
Expanded SUSI eligibility.
- Additional supports for students whose normal residence is more than 30km from their institution.
- Additional funding for student mental health and wellbeing and the Fund for Students with disabilities.
- Government approval was given to amend the National Training Fund Act, enabling the release of a €1.485bn surplus to support education, training and research.
- Over €68m was invested in energy efficiency and decarbonisation across the FET sector during 2025.