Pádraig Mac Lochlainn (Donegal, Sinn Fein)
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1584. To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Justice and Equality his plans to increase the availability of the Kick Start scholarship programme to include other universities throughout the country; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19743/25]

Jim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
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Dormant Accounts Funding was approved under the 2021 Dormant Accounts Programme to provide financial supports for the establishment of a scholarship scheme to enable people with criminal records access third-level education.

The KickStart Scholarship Fund was launched in 2022 and was administered via the Maynooth University Access Programme on behalf of the MEND (Midlands, East and North Dublin) cluster of Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), comprised of Dublin City University, Dundalk Institute of Technology, Maynooth University and Technological University of the Shannon.

Under the scheme, two scholarships were made available annually in each MEND HEI, one at up to a maximum of €20,000 and another up to a maximum of €5,000 (administered over four years of study for full-time students and six years for part-time students). Three rounds of the scholarship scheme have been progressed, indicating that there is a proof of concept for such a scheme.

The Building Pathways Together: Criminal Justice Reintegration Through Employment Strategy 2025-2027 was launched in November 2024 by the Department of Justice. The aim of this strategy is to remove barriers to employment for people with a criminal conviction and to increase opportunities for employment. Employers will have a pivotal role in the implementation of the strategy.

One of the actions identified in the Strategy is the expansion of the KickStart scheme to provide access routes and dedicated financial supports across all third-level institutions in the State.

Funding of €1.4m was provided for under the Dormant Accounts Funding 2025 Action Plan, in order to support paths to employment for people with past criminal convictions, including the expansion of the KickStart Scholarship to all places of third-level education.