Charlie O'Connor (Dublin South West, Fianna Fail)
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Question 270: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she has studied the document issued by the Union of Students in Ireland, An Agenda of Excellence in Third Level Education; her plans to respond to the issues; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [13334/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I am aware of the document referred to by the Deputy. My commitment and that of this Government to ongoing improvements in higher education is clearly demonstrated by a range of policy developments and funding programmes, including those which encourage wider access to further and third level education.

Higher education in Ireland has come through a period of major expansion. Almost 45,000 new third level places have been created since this Government took Office in 1997 and there are now some 168,000 students in the system. The most recent participation study confirms the continuing trend. It shows that the national admission rate was 55% in 2004 – up from 44% in 1998. Overall investment in the sector on a per annum basis has more than doubled over that period. This stands at some €1.9 billion for the current year.

There are clear indications that the increased investment of resources in this area over the last decade and more is now paying dividends and that targets for participation in higher education that were set in the 2001 Report of the Action Group on Access to Higher Education and the last National Development Plan 2000-2006 have been reached. For example, participation by mature entrants to full-time higher education has grown from 4.5% in 1998 to almost 10% in 2006. Surveys conducted by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) also indicate that access to higher education by young people from under-represented socio-economic groups continues to improve. For example, in 2004, between 33% and 40% of young people nationally from the semi-skilled and unskilled socio-economic groups went on to study in higher education compared to only 23% in 1998. New targets for participation will be developed in 2007, linked to the implementation of the National Development Plan 2007-2013.

Major improvements have been made by this Government in both the income limits for eligibility and the actual grant levels for third level student support. This includes the introduction of the special rate of maintenance grant. The higher rate of this grant is now at a record level of nearly €6,000 for the 2006/07 academic year — compared to just over €2,000 in 1996/97. The allocation for student support schemes in this current year is in excess of €241m.

As the Deputy may already be aware, I plan to introduce a single unified scheme of maintenance grants for students in higher education which will, I believe, provide for a more coherent administrative system. The scheme, which will be underpinned by a new Student Support Bill, will facilitate consistency of application, improved client accessibility and ensure timely delivery of grants to those who need them most. The Student Support Bill is at an advanced stage of preparation. This, together with my commitment to ongoing improvements in the student support schemes, including increasing the rates of grant and the income limits for eligibility as resources permit, will continue to build on our achievements in this area.

With regard to higher education infrastructure, the NDP 2007-2013 provides for an investment of €1.975 billion in modernising campus facilities. This level of investment reflects the significance the Government attaches to infrastructure requirements in the sector. In relation to student accommodation, a special tax incentive was introduced to encourage the provision of student rented residential accommodation in Section 50 of the Finance Act, 1999. The purpose of the relief was to increase the supply of quality accommodation for third level students. The scheme has been very successful in this respect. According to the Indecon Report on the Review of Property-based Tax Incentive Schemes published by the Department of Finance in February 2006, concerns now exist about over-supply of accommodation in the student accommodation sector.

Having regard to developments in the PLC sector, including the McIver Report, negotiations are currently ongoing between the management and the unions. Concrete prioritised proposals in relation to PLC provision and focused in particular on the larger providers are currently being prepared. Provision has been included in the 2007 estimates for this purpose. It is important to emphasise that the arrangements for the PLC sector will be determined in the light of resources available and the implications for other areas of education. Further negotiations have been arranged for after Easter. All parties continue to be positively engaged in the process.