Catherine Murphy (Kildare North, Independent)
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239. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide a breakdown by socio-economic background of all those pursuing both full-time and part-time higher education who entered immediately after completing their leaving certificate; the way these figures compare historically; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40624/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The Higher Education Authority's annual publication "Higher Education Key Facts and Figures" provides an overview of data from the Irish education system highlighting key trends for the year including Socio Economic, Ethnic/Cultural and Disability data. The report covering the academic year 2011/12 was published in April 2013. Section 7 of the report contains information on the socio - economic background of school leaver entrants.The report can be accessed at . For comparative purposes reports for previous years are also available on the HEA website.

One of the key objectives in the Higher Education System Performance Framework for 2014-16 which I published earlier this year is that work will continue to promote access to higher education for disadvantaged groups, including students from target socio-economic groups. Progress towards this objective is monitored against target entry rates for under-represented socio-economic groups in the current national Access Plan (2008-2013). New targets and indicators are being developed as part of the next national Access Plan for 2014 onwards.