Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 June 2025
972. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the reason his Department has continued to decrease the number of Springboard places available from the 2023 outturn target of 9,245 places; 8,225 places in 2024 and just 8,000 in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32585/25]
View answerSpringboard+, established in 2011 continues to play a vital role in expanding access to higher education by offering flexible, work focused learning opportunities to adult learners across the country. Aligned with national skills priorities, Springboard+ supports individuals to upskill or reskill in high-demand areas such as ICT, cybersecurity and sustainability.
Springboard+ is free or heavily subsidised and offered in a flexible format (part-time, blended, and online) making higher education more accessible to all. In May 2025, I was delighted to launch Springboard+ 2025, which is providing almost 8,000 places on 249 courses and includes micro-credentials.
Springboard+ is open to the unemployed, employed and those returning to the workforce, subject to meeting eligibility criteria. It has demonstrated strong outcomes in terms of learner progression and graduate employability, with the majority of participants securing employment or further study upon completion.
As demand grows for a skilled and adaptable workforce, Springboard+ will continue to be an important driver of increased participation in higher education.
An increased budget allocation for Springboard+ was awarded as a temporary Government response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the years 2020-2022. The reduction in the budget allocation for Springboard+ after 2022 is the principal reason for the reduction in the number of places funded – and thus enrolments – from 2023 onwards.
Springboard+ was funded on a multiannual basis for the 2022/23, 2023/24 and 2024/24 academic years. As per the Provider Contract with the HEA, courses are required to fill at least 75% of places to be re-funded in subsequent years, and any course that did not reach this threshold or any courses that did not run in 2023/24 would not have been re-funded in 2024/25, thus reducing the number of places funded between those programme years.
In relation the number of places funded in 2025, there was a new Call for Proposals earlier this year and the average cost of delivering a course has increased by 11% since the last Call in 2022. Increased administrative costs, including data retention and storage space costs, have also been experienced over time. Additional costs have also been incurred owing to the inclusion of Micro-credentials under Springboard+ 2025.
