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Press release

Extra scholarships for underrepresented and disadvantaged students announced by Minister Harris

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science Simon Harris has today announced financial supports for students seeking to access higher education.

The measures, which will support the achievement of goals in the upcoming National Access Plan, are in addition to the €3 million to enhance opportunities for students with intellectual disabilities and autistic students to access higher education this year.

This €2 million funding in 2022 will include:

  • an additional 50 bursaries of €5,000 per student for the most disadvantaged students including those with a disability, mature students, lone parents, and further education award holders
  • a new 3-year stream of funding to support Traveller and Roma participation in higher education
  • allowing those on certain existing scholarships retain the funding for graduate entry medicine

Speaking today, Minister Harris said:

“One of my key priorities since becoming Minister is to promote access to education. We have placed a relentless focus on promoting inclusion.

“Education is for everyone and yet there remains significant cohorts not represented in higher education.

“That is why we intend to launch a new National Access Plan to ensure we change the conversation about higher education and ensure it is available to all who wish to access it.

“We also must ensure we help diversify our professions too. That is why I am particularly pleased that we are allowing certain scholarship holders continue their bursaries for graduate entry medicine courses.

“The student must be at the centre of all that we do, everyone should have equity of access to education independent of their socioeconomic background, ethnicity, gender, geographical location, disability or other circumstances, and this additional ring-fenced funding is created to support all in entering, participating in and succeeding in higher education.”

In addition, consideration is being given for new measures to promote transitions from further education to higher education for priority groups with a specific emphasis on supporting students who are member of the Traveller and Roma communities.

Once-off measures will also be provided to support the development of partnership with DEIS schools, the further education sector and other community partners to support students from underrepresented groups to access higher education.

National Access Plan

It is a Programme for Government commitment to “continue with, and expand, the National Plan for Equity of Access to Higher Education”. Equity of access to higher education is a fundamental principle of Irish education policy and a priority for the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science and the Higher Education Authority. The core policy principle is that people should have equity of access to education independent of their socioeconomic background, ethnicity, gender, geographical location, disability or other circumstances.

Since 2005 there have been three national plans for equity of access in higher education. The Higher Education Authority Bill 2022, which is currently progressing through the Oireachtas, will put the development of the National Access Plan on a statutory basis. The commitment to equity of access is also articulated in developments such as the Higher Education System Performance Framework, and the access strategies of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs).

Budget 2022 provided an additional €5 million for measures to support the delivery of the National Access Plan. In addition to measures previously noted by the government in respect of initiatives to support universal design and for the creation of more opportunities for those with intellectual disabilities to engage in the higher education, the minister intends using this funding to roll-out measures to support innovative approaches to the delivery of this plan, including:

  • 50 additional Programme for Access to Higher Education (PATH) 2 Bursaries of €5,000 per student for the most socio-economically disadvantaged students from within priority groups
  • more flexible PATH 2 bursaries, including allowing students to continue their bursary for graduate-entry medicine courses
  • establishing PATH 5 to support Traveller and Roma participation in higher education through a 3-year pilot
  • considering providing a further-education sector coordinator to promote the PATH programme in further education and support transitions to higher education for priority groups with a specific emphasis on supporting students who are member of the Traveller and Roma communities is being considered as a time-bound pilot
  • once-off measures in 2022 to further promote transitions to higher education in PATH 3 in recognition of additional DEIS schools, the additional priority groups identified in the National Access Plan and enhanced focus on further to higher education transitions particularly for mature students

The new National Access Plan will be published in Q3 of 2022.

Programme for Access to Higher Education Fund

The Programme for Access to Higher Education (PATH) Fund (first established under the last plan) will continue to support delivery of the new plan. This is a multi-strand initiative which supports time-bound programmes and projects with innovative approaches to deliver the ambitions, goals, objectives, actions and targets of national access plans.

PATH 1

PATH 1 focuses on broadening access to initial teacher education. It funds those HEIs that have Centres for Teaching Excellence in order to strengthen their capacity to deliver access through innovative projects to improve diversity in the teacher workforce. This reflects the central role of teachers as role models in driving access goals.

PATH 2

PATH 2 (1916 Bursary Fund) launched in the 2017/2018 academic year. This strand supports the most socio-economically disadvantaged students with a bursary worth up to €5,000 during each year of their studies. The bursaries provide extra support to students from disadvantaged and underrepresented backgrounds to successfully participate in higher education, including at postgraduate level. The 1916 Bursary Fund and the number and diversity of students it has supported has been a key achievement during the lifetime of the 2015–2021 Plan and will continue to play an important role in this new Plan.

PATH 3

PATH 3 funds regional clusters of HEIs to develop partnerships with DEIS schools, the Further Education sector and other community partners to support students from underrepresented groups.

PATH 4

The recently-launched PATH Strand 4 will, over two phases, strengthen universal design for all students, including autistic students, and enhance opportunities for engagement of students with intellectual disabilities in higher education.

PATH 5

Irish Traveller and Roma fund

The fund's objectives are to:

  • support progress towards targets for participation of Travellers in higher education
  • support the development of targets for participation of Roma in higher education
  • support the implementation of Traveller Education Strategy ( when developed)
  • mitigate against the disproportionate impact that COVID-19 had on the Traveller and Roma communities