Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The DARE scheme is operated by the Irish Universities Association, IUA, on behalf of the higher education institutions which set the policy criteria for the scheme. Applications to the scheme are submitted to the Central Applications Office which co-ordinates the scheme for participating institutions. All matters pertaining to admissions to higher education are a function of the higher education institutions themselves, which, as the Deputy knows, are autonomous academic bodies. Therefore, the operation, funding and management of the scheme does not fall under the remit of our Department.

I acknowledge the valuable role the DARE scheme plays in enabling access to higher education for those with a disability. It is complementary to the goals of my Department's national access plan, which aims to increase the proportion of new entrants to higher education with a disability to 16% by 2028. The latest available figures, which cover the 2022 to 2023 academic year, indicate that 13.8% of new entrants to higher education have a disability, compared with the baseline figure of 12.4% contained in the plan, which was launched in 2022. The IUA and the access officers of each higher education institution are members of the steering group established under the national access plan. This group provides an opportunity for valuable discussion on the priorities within the national action plan, including disability matters.

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