Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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1064. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of students who accessed the fund for students with disabilities over the past three years by educational institution; the average amount provided to each student; the estimated cost of increasing the fund by 5%, 10% and 25% respectively; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31534/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Fund for Students with Disabilities provides funding to further and higher education institutions in Ireland to assist them in offering supports and services to eligible students with disabilities so they can participate on an equal basis with their peers.

The attached spreadsheet provides the numbers of students supported under the Fund in participating Irish Higher Education Institutions over the past three years, as reported by the institutions. The spreadsheet also includes the average amounts spent on supports per student using monies provided under the Fund.

In relation to Further Education, collated statistics would not have the same level of detail as what is available for HEIs and therefore the detailed information requested by the Deputy is only available for the Higher Education sector. The FSD has been managed by the Higher Education Authority on behalf of the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science since 2003. I wish to point out that the administration of the Fund for the further education sector transferred to SOLAS in 2020.

In relation to the estimated cost of increasing the fund by 5%, 10% and 25%: the overall amount available for the FSD is €9,600,000, out of which €7,658,000 is designated for Irish Higher Education Institutions and €1,942,000 is designated for the Further Education sector. The cost of increasing the fund by 5%, 10% and 25% would be €480,000, €960,000 and €2,400,000, respectively.

Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
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1065. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the estimated cost of extending the fund for students with disabilities to part-time students; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [31535/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The Fund for Students with Disabilities (FSD) is the principal funding source for students with disabilities in further and higher education. The purpose of the Fund is to provide funding to further and higher education institutions to assist them in offering supports and services to eligible students with disabilities so that they can participate on an equal basis with their peers. The FSD aims to support the personal, educational and professional development of the participating student and contribute to the achievement of their full potential.

The 2017 review of the Fund for Students with Disabilities recommended the extension of FSD supports to learners on part-time courses in Irish higher education institutions. This recommendation was implemented on a pilot basis in 2018 whereby institutions were invited to begin preparations for the inclusion of learners on part-time courses under the fund by using their existing allocations to assist such students. The Fund has continued to support part-time students since the introduction in 2018.

The number of students supported under the Fund is circa 14,000 at an average cost of €686 per student. The number of part-time students supported, as reported by the institutions, was 340 in 2018/19 and 463 in 2019/20.