Lynn Ruane (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I have a couple of questions, mostly for Ms Ryan, Ms Bailey and either Mr. Hughes or Ms Sheehan. I will start with Ms Ryan.

I remember that there was funding available a few years ago, and colleges were only going to be able to access a particular fund based on how well they were doing in terms of their access rates. Is there is still a tie between university funding and access? If so, do we need to dig down further into it and have a specific funding stream for Traveller access? Some universities get access right and some do not. People have the idea that access is just about getting a place but that is very much not the case. Ms McDonagh spoke about having the financial support at third level to be able to complete an education. How do we measure access in each university? How do we audit it? How do we judge whether a university is actually providing access from the point of walking in the door until the point of completing a degree, including a Master’s degree, or a PhD, such that the access heading follows the student right through the education system? It would mean that irrespective of the supports the student needs, be they financial, emotional, familial, social or cultural, the access package should be much wider than one that just implies the granting of a place in university, which is somehow seen as an access route.

A few years ago, perhaps when I was on the board of Trinity College, funding was tied to access. I cannot really remember what the path was. Could Ms Ryan clarify that?

My next question is for Mr. Hughes or Ms Sheehan. I remember reading the report of the committee on educational disadvantage that was set up years ago within the Department. The report was not taken on board at the time. I believe Ms Ann Louise Gilligan may have been the chairman of the committee, group or task force at the time. DEIS came into existence as it was being disbanded.

Many will say I am wrong but I believe the evidence will start to come out over the next few years that DEIS, Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools, has failed. The purpose of DEIS was to narrow the gap between disadvantaged and better-off communities. Although literacy and numeracy has increased, it has increased at a national rate. If working class and settled kids are failed by DEIS in terms of third level progression, how can we do a review of the system to ensure it can be enhanced and more robust? If we are looking at access right from birth, do we need a DEIS system where the supports follow children and are relative to the situation of particular minority groups or families? Do we need to get down much more to the actual individual supports of DEIS rather than only the school supports? Sometimes DEIS supports get spread out in a such a way that the kids who most need support do not actually get it.

Every year I attend the Education World Forum for education ministers. Ireland has failed to be represented at it because it does not take up the invite. I have learned much about access to education from ministers around the world over two days. One year I sat on a panel with Eric Hanushek who wrote Education Quality and Economic Growth. As Ms Bailey said, it comes back to bad literacy rates being an indicator of inequality levels. Eric Hanushek presented his research and showed how countries with a higher rate of GDP per capitaalso have higher literacy and numeracy rates. Instead of looking at smaller plasters to solve problems, is the Department looking at increasing GDP per capitaif we want to address inequality and educational disadvantage?

Ms Bailey gave the figures for literacy as a whole. Has there ever been a Traveller-specific survey carried out? Whatever funds are set aside for literacy as a whole, there is no real understanding of how much of that is targeted towards actual communities rather than just individuals struggling with literacy.