Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 17 June 2025
984. Deputy Donna McGettigan asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science His Department's plans in addressing the significant decrease in numbers for Springboard enrolments with 11,033 enrolments in 2021, 10,545 in 2022 and just 9,444 in 2023; to provide updated figures for 2024 and 2025, in tabular form; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32612/25]
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.
It is important to highlight that the budget allocation for Springboard+ is on a calendar year basis, while the Springboard+ programme operates on an academic year. As such, projections on expenditure are required to be made on an ongoing basis and adjustments in the number of places that can be funded are made, if funding becomes available. Funding may free up following registrations when not all participants complete the registration process as anticipated, or when courses do not run, as not enough applications are received from suitably qualified applicants. In those circumstances, Springboard+ has been able to offer additional places to providers to run extra intakes or fund additional places on over-enrolled courses from the funding that has been freed up.
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 to the reduction in the number of places funded in 2025, there was a new Call for Proposals earlier this year, however 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.
Efforts are, however, underway to ensure that enrolments are maximised within the existing allocation of places. Application numbers for Springboard+ 2025 are very strong to date. As of 10th June, there are 5,827 applications (from 4,510 unique applicants) for 7,719 places. At the same date in 2024, 4,616 applications had been received. Additionally, applications were open for three weeks by this point in 2024 compared to one week in 2025.
As can be seen from the fill rates in the Higher Education Indicators table (provided separately), places on Springboard+ funded courses have filled over 100% in the 2023 and 2024 programme years, and the HEA are seeing an increase of approximately 25% in the number of applications for Springboard+ 2025 compared to the same time last year.
A comprehensive marketing and communication strategy to promote Springboard+ 2025 courses will launch shortly. This will include promoting the new courses across various platforms including radio, outdoor advertising, and social media. This will include Irish language media. This will ensure the message reaches as wide an audience as possible.
Twinned with this approach, each of the higher education providers will run their own campaigns to promote their individual programmes.
Please find attached table of Springboard+ enrolments updated to 2024, along with some information on applications to date for Springboard+ 2025.
