I welcome the launch of the new National Plan for Equity of Access to to Higher Education 2015-2019 by Minister for Education and Skills, Jan O'Sullivan TD this week. The Plan has 5 key goals and over 30 actions.
The main purpose of the Plan is to assist in the access to higher education for under-represented groups including people with a disability.
An additional €3m in funding for student support services in 2016 was announced at the launch with €1.5m being allocated to increase the Student Assistance Fund, an additional €500,000 allocated to the Fund for Students with Disabilities and €1m is being provided for a range of other actions. The increase in funding for the Fund for Students with Disabilities will provide continued accessibility in the way of technology and supports.
This launch of the National Plan for Equity of Access to Higher Education and the additional investments in both the Student Assistance Fund and the Fund for Students with Disabilities is to be welcomed.
While progress has been made at higher education level we still need to continue to remove the barriers to education for students with a disability. Overall, we need to ensure we provide quality opportunities for Irish people to engage in higher education.
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