There are a wide range of courses available in further and higher education to students with intellectual disabilities which I will outline. Since the launch of the current National Access Plan in 2022, my Department has made significant progress regarding the range of supports and programmes for learners with disabilities, including intellectual disabilities, in Higher Education. The Programme for Access to Higher Education, or PATH 4 funding stream under the National Access Plan supports my Department's goal of enabling all learners with disabilities to avail of higher education.?
PATH 4, Phase 2 courses for students with intellectual disabilities were announced in February 2024. The courses are specifically designed to meet the needs of students with an intellectual disability and have a wide geographical spread across the country. This is a pathfinding programme with a budget of just over €11 million. 193 students are currently enrolled in 11 HEIs across a wide geographic spread. I was pleased to extend these programmes for another 2 years up to 2028.
I have also approved funding to hire an expert to develop a common evaluation instrument for PATH 4 Phase 2. The evaluation of the programme presents an invaluable opportunity to gather aggregated data at the national level on the outcomes and lessons emerging. It will also allow us to build a robust evidence-base to inform and guide future policy development.
It is expected that the evaluation of the programme will be available in late 2026. This will be critical in informing the next steps so that we can best meets the needs of students with an intellectual disability right across the country.
In Further Education and Training, ETBs will continue to increase their capacity to enact UDL and to make Reasonable Accommodations. In doing so they are working in partnership with SOLAS, ETBi and AHEAD, a non-profit organisation which supports learners to access and participate in tertiary education.
Each of Ireland’s 16 Education and Training Boards (ETBs) provide Further Education and Training (FET) opportunities for learners with intellectual disabilities.
ETBs deliver a range of programmes specifically for learners with additional learning needs. Under Specialist Training Provision (STP), for example, the 16 ETBs provide grant funding to third-party organisations to deliver training for learners who require more intensive support than is typically available in mainstream FET settings. In 2025, SOLAS allocated €44.8m to ETBs for STP, including approximately €18.5m for learner allowances.
Mainstream FET programmes, such as adult literacy, community education and PLC courses, are also accessible to all learners, including those with intellectual disabilities, subject to standard eligibility requirements. Provision is available in every community across Ireland and spans a wide range of learning, from unaccredited and Level 1 to Level 6 on the National Framework of Qualifications.
In support of this, SOLAS, ETBI, ETBs and AHEAD have done considerable work in recent years to develop staff and organisational capacity to use Universal Design for Learning and provide Reasonable Accommodations. This includes professional learning and resources for FET practitioners, which are widely used across the sector.
I trust this clarifies the matter.
