Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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542. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of students with a disability who have begun third level education by county in the academic year 2022-2023, in tabular form. [59554/22]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The most complete data set on students with disabilities collected by the HEA is the number of students reported as having a disability from the Equal Access Survey (EAS), which is a voluntary set of questions asked of first years in higher education each year.

Data for the 2022/2023 academic year is not available yet. The data which the deputy is requesting is also not routinely collected by county by the HEA. However, I can update you on the most recent relevant aggregate data we would have which is for the academic year 2021/22.

The baseline % of new entrants with a disability in 2021/2022 as a percentage of all new entrants was originally 12.4%. Out of a total of 45,677 total new entrants in 2021/22, 6035 indicated that they had a disability. This most recent data for 2021/22 shows that this has increased to 13.2%.

Setting targets for students with disabilities is challenging due to various definitions of disability as well as issues on estimating prevalence rates across the educational sector. In addition to this, the nature of a person’s disability can change or develop over time.

A target of 16% is set in the new National Access Plan 2022-2028. This target aims to increase the participation of students with disabilities in higher education by between 0.5 and 1 percentage point each year.

A progress review of the new plan will take place in 2025. This will assess progress against targets and consider how they may need to be reviewed based on improved data. As part of this, the HEA may be able to collect information on a by county basis in future.