Education Schemes
Seanad Éireann — 2026-02-25
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Marian Harkin (IND), Sligo-Leitrim

I thank the Senator for raising what is truly a very important matter to an awful lot of people. I am delighted to be able to respond positively to her this morning.
First, I will give a small bit of context. As the Senator will know, the provision of courses for students with intellectual disabilities was a key commitment made in the national access plan published back in 2022. Progress on the delivery of the courses has been most encouraging, with 193 students studying in 11 higher education institutions, HEIs, across Ireland on these programmes. This far exceeds the original number of 160. The courses have become a feature of our higher education system, which is precisely what we want to see. My Department has invested over €11 million to provide the courses, and I am deeply committed to ensuring their continuation.
To date, participating HEIs reported they have experienced a high demand for the programmes, and the retention and attendance rates are high, sometimes the highest reported across the entire HEI spectrum. Early reports from the institutions have confirmed the programmes, as the Senator said, are having a hugely transformative effect on people’s lives, on the students and, crucially, the wider communities they are participating in.
The Senator specifically referred in her question to Atlantic Technological University. In context, ATU has received over €500,000 under PATH 4 phase 1 2022-2026, and a total budget approved for PATH 4 phase 2 for ATU is €938,000, nearly €1 million. As she knows, the courses are at national framework of qualifications, NFQ. level 6, and a key feature of the programmes is there are no course fees attached. Alongside delivery of the courses, the funding has been used to provide supports to students. Whether that is financial supports for students who may be financially disadvantaged, or assistive technology, personal assistance or transport, there is funding there to help with that.
As the Senator said quite rightly, both students and the colleges they attend are very happy with their achievements.
I am pleased to be in a position to provide her with an update on the continuation of the courses. Just last week the Minister, Deputy Lawless, who is the Minister in charge and who I am speaking for, brought a memorandum to the Government to ensure the continuation of these courses for the next two-year cycle. This decision provides certainty to the students, families and providers and will allow for the courses to be advertised for next September. As the Senator said, this is good news. She spoke about a young man, Kevin, who is working in her office. It is certainly good news for him but also for all the staff and students at ATU and the 11 HEIs across the country which are, as the Senator said, anxious to find out if the funding will be extended post 2026. The simple, straightforward answer to that is "Yes".

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-02-25/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:41+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-02-25