Róisín Shortall (Dublin North West, Social Democrats)
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277. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the basis on which students who attend specialist training providers are not generally being facilitated under the mitigating educational disadvantage fund or the €15 million fund established to address the digital divide at further education and third level. [37582/20]

Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail)
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Since the Covid 19 outbreak earlier this year,  my Department has been working with the key stakeholders across the Further Education and Training (FET) sector to put in place systems to support national efforts to address public health issues and civic needs and to support continuity of further and higher education and learning. In order to facilitate this, a number of immediate, medium and longer term working groups were established, including the Mitigating Educational Disadvantage (MED) Group which was formed with the intention to scope out the main issues impacting on learning across all aspects of further and higher Education arising from the Covid-19 public health emergency.  

A fund for student devices worth €15 million was administered as part of a €168 million package for further and higher education sectors. The €8 million MED fund aims to provide funding to support educationally disadvantaged learners in accessing and participating in further education and training.

In the further education and training sector, both of these funds are administered through the 16 Education and Training Boards (ETBs). The guidelines do not preclude any group applying provided all governance requirements of the ETB are met.

Applications for funding can be made through ETB Community Education Facilitators and Directors of FET in ETBs.  ETBs have used social media platforms and other established mechanisms to ensure the call for funding reaches a wide variety of groups locally.