Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú)
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89. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills what steps his Department is undertaking to ensure that students from the Travelling community are welcomed and encouraged to progress within the third-level education sector. [40283/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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I am committed to making progress in enhancing access, participation and success for learners across further education, apprenticeship and higher education.

The number of students who are members of the Irish Traveller community has improved marginally but still remains disappointingly low. Recent data for 2021/22 indicates that the current number of Traveller new entrants is 52. The current National Access Plan targets 150 new entrants from the Traveller community by 2028.

Learners from the Traveller and Roma communities are priority target groups under the new National Access Plan. Last year, I allocated a fund of €1.35 million over three years to the pilot PATH 5 programme, administered by the Higher Education Authority. The key objective of this funding stream is to increase the participation and progression of Traveller and Roma students in Higher Education. The Fund can be used to support the development of community-based partnerships with the Traveller and Roma communities.

There are a number of social inclusion measures aimed at supporting Traveller and Roma learners as part of the Action Plan for Apprenticeship.This includes the Traveller and Roma Apprenticeship Incentivisation Programme, which I launched late last year. While an apprenticeship is a paid employment contract, there may be associated costs for apprentices, such as buying tools or equipment. To help with this, the Traveller Apprenticeship Incentivisation Programme and the new Social Inclusion Bursary will provide sums of €2,000 to €2,500 to apprentices.

There are also a number of programmes and strategies such as Youthreach and Adult Literacy for Life that are vital in supporting members of the Traveller and Roma community. This includes supporting learners from the Travelling Community to develop literacy, numeracy and “soft” skills, in line with the Further Education and Training Strategy. A number of specific initiatives are also being funded which include SOLAS allocating €104,000 to Pavee Point in 2022 to widen Traveller and Roma Participation in Further Education and Training.

Finally, on 6th July this year, I visited Pavee Point and met with students who are currently studying in Maynooth University. They relayed their positive experiences of studying in Higher Education. We also focused on SUSI grants and I was able to confirm that the National Traveller and Roma Education Strategy is progressing.