Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 63: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if he has been proactive in addressing the obstacles to further education facing the disabled, children with special needs and persons from economically poor backgrounds. [14246/04]

Noel Dempsey (Meath, Fianna Fail)
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By ensuring that available educational resources are targeted at the most disadvantaged people in the education system at all levels, my objective is to ensure that all young people complete first and second level with a high quality education and related qualifications to support their full participation in society and in the economy.

In the area of further and adult education the principal objectives of the measures and programmes funded by my Department are: to meet the needs of young early school leavers; to provide second chance education for adults; and to provide vocational education and training for labour market entrants and re-entrants.

These objectives are pursued through such programmes as Youthreach, the vocational training opportunities scheme, post-leaving certificate courses, senior Traveller training, the back to education initiative and the adult literacy and community education scheme. The programmes are operated and managed by the vocational education committees. Issues of access for individuals are addressed at local level with assistance from the adult education guidance service.

In higher education, there is provision for a third level access fund totalling €121 million, over the period 2000 to 2006, aimed at tackling under-representation of: students from disadvantaged backgrounds; mature students; and students with disabilities. The third level access fund comprises the following funding measures: special rates of maintenance grants for disadvantaged students; the ESF-aided student assistance fund; the ESF-aided fund for students with disabilities; and the ESF-aided millennium partnership fund for disadvantage.

In 2003, I introduced a new package of measures, costing €42 million in a full year, to further address and ameliorate the problems facing students from low to moderate income households in accessing third level education. This package combined substantial improvements in the level and coverage of the maintenance grant for those on low to moderate incomes, with increases in the level of top-up grant for those who are most disadvantaged.