Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein)
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69. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the target and target percentage in respect of the proportion of the student body to be comprised of the target groups, and the procedures in place for monitoring progress, by third level institution, under the national plan for equity of access to higher education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15239/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The new National Plan for Equity of Access to Higher Education, 2015-19, contains a number of targets that are intended to promote participation rates for those groups that are currently under-represented in higher education. These targets were developed in consultation with relevant stakeholders during the consultation process that informed the National Access Plan.

These national targets will be reviewed in 2017 as part of a mid-term review of the National Access Plan.

One of the actions in the National Access Plan is for each higher education institution to reflect the goals, objectives and targets of the Plan in their individual, institutional level, access plans, and in their annual compacts arising from the strategic dialogue process. This process of institutional alignment with the national targets and other key elements of the National Access Plan is currently under way.