Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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808. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the amount of funding allocated to the inclusive environment fund, in each year since its establishment, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26743/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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The 4th National Access Plan (NAP) 2022-2028 was launched in August 2022 the ambition of which is to support inclusion and diversity in higher education and to ensure that people have equity of access to higher education regardless of their socioeconomic background, ethnicity, disability or other circumstances. The Programme for Access To Higher Education (PATH) is the main funding stream that supports the implementation of the NAP. PATH 4 funding strand puts a particular focus on students with a disability. This funding is to further enable our higher education institutions (HEIs) to put in place practical measures that foster inclusion, in addition to addressing the barriers to full participation faced by this specific cohort of students.

In December 2024, an additional allocation was provided by my Department to the Higher Education Authority of €2,845,750 under PATH 4 Phase 1, and this was called the Inclusive Environment Fund. The fund is to support inclusion measures including the roll out of sensory maps of college campuses to support autistic learners, and measures to tackle prejudice and racism. €445,750 of the total envelope for the fund is ringfenced for anti-racism measures. Projects in HEIs are to be implemented in 2025 and 2026, projects being supported under the fund will run to the end of 2026.