Written answers
Wednesday, 2 July 2025
Department of Education and Skills
Further and Higher Education
Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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289. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the measures and strategies his Department undertakes in addressing the reasons behind a decline of HEI student numbers in 2023 and 2024 from certain institutes, primarily MTU’s and TU’s e.g. TU Dublin Blanchardstown saw a decline of 225 students in 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36370/25]
Donna McGettigan (Clare, Sinn Fein)
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290. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the measures and strategies his Department undertakes in addressing the reasons behind certain programme or study types in 2023 and 2024 seeing a decline in student numbers, most notably a decrease from 16,085 of students taking up ordinary degrees to a decrease of 15,750 in 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36371/25]
James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 289 and 290 together.
The number of courses available for application via the CAO at level 7 (Ordinary Degree) is less than those available at level 8 (Honors Degree). The courses offered by higher education institutions (HEIs), and the level at which those courses are offered, are determined by the institution in line with their academic autonomy.
The Higher Education Authority (HEA) collect student data on behalf of the Department and conduct analysis on participation and progression rates. Following a review of enrolment data from the HEA Student Records System (SRS), the HEA has established:
- The number of enrolments in NFQ Level 7 awards (ordinary degree) has declined annually from the 2017-2018 academic year to the 2023-2024 academic year. The rate of annual decline ranged from 2% to 9% year-on-year.
- In the 2023-2024 academic year, 15,745 students were enrolled in an ordinary degree, compared to 16,085 (a 2% decrease) the year before.
- There were annual increases in the number of students pursuing honours degrees (NFQ Level 8 awards), from 138,040 in the 2017/18 academic year to 156,880 in the 2023/24 year.
- There was also an increase in NFQ Level 6 enrolments, with 9,335 students in the 2017/18 year compared to 15,280 enrolled in the 2023/24 year
The establishment of technological universities has coincided with pandemic-related disruption to typical enrolment trends. The last four years have been marked by significant fluctuations in enrolments in the higher education sector in general, including the TU sector, reflecting the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Part of these fluctuations in enrolment levels have been driven by changes in the students progression rate during and after the pandemic. The most recent data suggests that progression rates have returned to pre-pandemic levels.
While there may be fluctuations in some HEIs regarding student numbers, the overall student data suggests that there is an upward trend in those participating in third-level education. From 2017/18 to 2023/24, two Technological Universities (TU Dublin and SETU) experienced an overall decrease in enrolment numbers , one (MTU) saw no change, and two (TUS and ATU) saw increased enrolment. The total number of students across all TU's for this period increased by 4,565.
The most recent CAO application data shows an increase of 8.5% in overall applications, and an increase of 7.7% in applications for courses at level 6 and 7.
Tertiary Degrees are now also available to students, with 38 such programmes available to students in September 2025. This, coupled with Apprenticeship options leading to NFQ Awards from Level 5-Level 10, may also have had an impact on the enrolment numbers indicated above, as students have more options available to them.
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