John Paul Phelan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fine Gael)
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111. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the way that he plans to tackle educational disadvantage in terms of accessing further and higher education institutions in 2022. [6091/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Equity of Access to Further and Higher Education continues to be a national priority for the Government and the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. Inclusion is a key goal in my Department's Statement of Strategy. The Programme for Government also reflects the importance of supporting learners at risk of educational disadvantage and learners with special education needs in higher education. My Department is committed to the continued roll-out of supports and targeted initiatives in 2022 to tackle educational disadvantage and support equity of access, participation and success in both further and higher education.

The development of the new Strategic Action Plan for Equity, Participation and Success in Higher Education is at an advanced stage. The plan is being developed collaboratively between my Department and the Higher Education Authority. The plan has involved significant consultation with interested stakeholders, including higher education institutions, students, individuals and representatives of priority groups. There was a strong response to the consultation process and a total of 122 submissions were received from a wide range of stakeholders. This approach of the Plan will be rooted strongly in partnership approaches, across Government, institutions and communities. It will focus on improving the learning experience and success of learners and seek to enhance support for people who are under-represented in the learner population in higher education. We hope to have a more student centred plan that drives our strategic goal of inclusion which is a cornerstone of my Department priorities. I secured an additional €5m in budget 2022 to bring forward targeted measures to support the implementation of this plan when it is published.

As part of Budget 2022, I have secured an additional €15m to enhance the existing financial supports under the Student Grant Scheme for implementation in 2022.

For the academic year 2022/23 this will mean:-

- An increase to all student grant maintenance payments, including the special rate of grant, of €200 per year which will benefit all students entitled to receive a maintenance Grant. There are currently circa 62,000 SUSI grant recipients receiving maintenance support.

- The income threshold to qualify for the standard rate of student grant has been increased by €1,000.

- The qualifying distance criterion for students to qualify for the non-adjacent rate of grant has been reduced from 45km to 30km, effective from the start of the 2022/23 academic year.

I have prioritised these changes for the 2022/23 academic year and they will benefit thousands of students building on the improvements that have already been made for postgraduate students through this year’s student grant scheme. These improvements to the student grant scheme have been a priority for me since taking up my Ministerial appointment.

I am also happy to give an update on the review of the Student Grant Scheme. This was a very important commitment in the Programme for Government, which will help shape decision-making on how we support students over the years to come. The draft report was submitted to me in late December 2021. Given the inter-connectivity between strategic student support issues and other reform priorities (e.g. the expansion of supports to part-time and blended learners as an enabler of lifelong learning or enhanced postgraduate supports as an enabler to equality, diversity and inclusion in the R&I system), it is now my intention to bring the report to Cabinet shortly alongside the Future Funding Model report.

The objectives of the National Access Plan are supported by a range of interventions and programmes:

The Programme for Access to Higher Education (PATH) comprises dedicated funding to support access to higher education and consists of three strands focussed on increasing the participation of under-represented groups in higher education. The PATH fund has a current investment envelope of €42 million over the period 2016 to 2022, across the three strands which are currently supporting access to initial teacher education, enabling the award of bursaries to the most socio economically disadvantaged students and through the Higher Education Access Fund is supporting institutional capacity in developing regional and community partnership strategies for increasing access to higher education.

Students in higher education institutions experiencing exceptional financial need can apply for support under the Student Assistance Fund (SAF). The annual Fund of €9.1m provides financial support to students who are experiencing financial difficulties while attending college. Students can apply for SAF to help with either temporary or ongoing financial difficulties and can be assisted towards their rent, childcare costs, transport costs, medical costs and books/class materials. It is open to both full and part-time registered students on courses of not less than one year's duration leading to an undergraduate or postgraduate qualification. It is recognised that COVID19 has had a major impact on the financial situation of students and their families. As part of my Department’s response to the issues affecting students arising from the pandemic, I have allocated significantly higher amounts to the Fund over the past two academic years. In total, €18.2 million was allocated for the 2020/2021 academic year. Last week, I announced the allocation of an additional €1.3 million for this year as once off further funding , which brings the allocation for the 2021/22 academic year to €18.5 million. In addition €1.9 million has also been allocated in Covid-19 funding to a contingency fund for access services

I am pleased to confirm that €450,000 has been secured in 2022 through the Dormant Accounts Fund for targeted supports to address the implications of COVID-19 on Traveller participation in higher education.

The Fund for Students with Disabilities (FSD) supports participation by students with a disability in further and higher education. €9.6m is allocated to the Fund annually for both Further and Higher Education. In January 2021, I approved a number of strategic projects under the Fund for Students with Disabilities (FSD) aimed at supporting students with disabilities to access and engage with higher education.

Persons in the protection process (asylum and subsidiary protection) or leave to remain process are not eligible to access the statutory based SUSI grant scheme. However, the administratively based Student Support Scheme provides supports along similar lines to the SUSI grant scheme and is available to persons in the asylum, subsidiary protection or leave to remain process.

Efforts will be advanced this year to examine widening the apprenticeship population so that it better resembles the national population. Under the Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021-2025, an Equity of Access sub-committee will be established under the National Apprenticeship Alliance. The sub-committee will look at ways of reaching under-represented groups, such as those at risk of socio-economic disadvantage, women, single parents, people with disabilities and Travellers. The Alliance is expected to hold its first meeting in early March, and other actions under the Alliance, including the Equity of Access sub-committee will then follow.

Fostering Inclusion is one of the three core pillars around which the Further Education and Training (FET) Strategy 2020-2024 is built. The FET sector is committed to increasing levels of inclusion through the provision of high quality, more accessible and flexible education and training programmes and supports suited to the identified needs of individuals. FET provision is largely free or heavily subsidised, and a number of financial supports may be available to learners to facilitate the participation of individuals who would not otherwise be in a position to take up training. I would encourage people to make an appointment with their local Adult Education Guidance Service (AEGS), available in each Education and Training Boards (ETB) across the country free of charge, to discuss what supports may be available to them.