Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The programme for Government contains a commitment to commission an independent examination to identify the supports and barriers to accessing higher education for lone parents and to examine measures to increase participation. In line with this commitment, my Department engaged a multidisciplinary team in NUI Maynooth to undertake the independent review. The review is being overseen by a steering committee comprising officials from my Department and from the Department of Social Protection and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, as well as the Higher Education Authority.

The review is examining existing data and describing the supports that are currently available for lone parents, with a view to identifying the specific challenges faced by lone parents in accessing higher education. The intention is to identify measures and best practice that will address those challenges in the future. The review is currently being finalised. It is a complex policy area that involves three Government Departments. Given the complexity of the issues involved, it is expected that the review will be completed before the end of the year.

However, the review was sufficiently progressed to inform policy decisions by the relevant Departments in budget 2017. In that context, I secured additional funding to support more lone parents to participate in higher education. This new funding will be used to respond to the recommendations contained in the review. This is as part of the additional €36.5 million funding for higher education that my Department received.

The additional funding I received for lone parents in budget 2017 will be complemented by measures announced by my colleague, the Minister for Social Protection, to assist lone parents to return to education. These measures include the reintroduction of the €500 annual cost of education allowance for parents, including lone parents. The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs is also introducing a programme of affordable child care which will be of significant help to lone parents who are using child care and accessing higher education.

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