Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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658. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if the pandemic unemployment payment will be taken into consideration as income when assessing HEAR applications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12484/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The HEAR scheme is operated by the Irish Universities Association (IUA) www.iua.iewho set the policy criteria for the scheme. Admissions under the HEAR scheme are regulated by the higher education institutions themselves. Applications to the scheme are submitted to the Central Applications Office (CAO) who coordinate the scheme for participating institutions.

As such, The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science has no role in the policy criteria or operation of the scheme.

The HEAR handbook for 2021 can be accessed at www.accesscollege.ie. It confirms that applications to the HEAR scheme for 2021 are based on income from 2019 and therefore the pandemic unemployment payment is not a factor in this years applications.

Michael Creed (Cork North West, Fine Gael)
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659. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he is tracking the number of first year dropouts from third-level courses in the academic year 2020-2021; the consequences of this rate of dropout for the academic year 2021-2022; the CAO application process for same; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [12501/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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My officials have spoken on a number of occasions with representatives from the higher education sector regarding any changes to the non-progression rate among students in this year. While precise figures on non-progression are not available at this time, the higher education institutions have indicated that there is no significant change either upwards or downwards in the non-progression rate this year compared to previous years. It is therefore not expected that CAO applications from this cohort will be significantly higher than in previous years.

Students who have decided not to progress with their higher education course and wish to reapply to the CAO may do so in the normal way. While the initial CAO application date of 1st February has passed, the late application facility for the CAO opened on 5th March and will remain open until 1st May. Any potential applicant who has not already submitted a CAO application may do so now for any non-restricted course.