Maeve O'Connell (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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292. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the measures in place to support the Universal Design for Learning in Higher Education Institutions; to list the institutions which received funding under Path 4 Phase 1 of the National Access Plan; and the amount of funding they received. [36409/25]

James Lawless (Kildare North, Fianna Fail)
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The fourth National Access Plan, was published in August 2022.

One of the two overarching ambitions of this Plan is ‘that our higher education institutions are inclusive, universally designed environments which support student success and outcomes, equity and diversity’.

PATH 4 Phase 1 Universal Design and Inclusive Environment Funds:

In 2022, €3 million was allocated to higher education institutions (HEIs) by the HEA under the PATH 4 Phase 1 Universal Design Fund. The purpose of this funding was to support the embedding of Universal Design approaches and inclusive practices in HEIs to the benefit of all students, in particular neurodiverse students, and to enable building of capacity for greater participation by students with intellectual disabilities in higher education. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a core element of a Universal Design approach. This funding has been a key enabler in achieving progress towards the adoption of inclusive practices and more inclusive physical and digital environments in HEIs.

With the support of the PATH 4 Phase 1 Universal Design Fund, 25 education stakeholders collaborated extensively to develop a Universal Design framework for the tertiary sector, the ALTITUDE Charter, which was formally launched in March 2024. The project involved six national agencies, fifteen HEIs and six Education and Training Board (ETB) representatives, and culminated in the development of the ALTITUDE Charter and an accompanying technical report and toolkit. The Charter functions as a roadmap for institutions to guide the adoption of an effective, holistic and coherent approach to embedding a universal design approach across the sector. It recommends key strategic enablers that institutions should put in place over time, in addition to proposing actions towards goals under 4 key pillars: Learning, Teaching & Assessment; Supports, Services & Social Engagement; the Physical Environment; and the Digital Environment.

I recently announced that a further €2.8 million has been committed to promote inclusion and support increased participation and success for students in higher education. The Inclusive Environment Fund will enable institutions to continue to advance and build on progress towards embedding universal design and inclusion up to the end of 2026.

The breakdown of funding provided under PATH 4 Phase 1 is provided in the table below.

I trust this clarifies the matter for the Deputy.