Indicator history

Extract from the Higher Education Authority’s National Plan for Equity of Access to Higher Education 2008-1013:

“Ireland has rapidly become a much more diverse society in terms of nationality and ethnicity and it will be vital for the education system to reflect and accommodate that diversity. This is an immediate challenge at school level and it is certain to become a key higher education issue in the near future. There are a number of complex issues around the provision of higher educational opportunities to immigrants, which can include the differential level of fees charged by institutions, language barriers and the recognition of prior qualifications. This plan does not include specific action points relating to ethnicity. Nevertheless, this important dimension of equality will feature centrally in the evaluations of the progress in widening participation that will be undertaken over the period of this plan. During 2008, the National Access Office will focus on building good relations with representatives of minority ethnic groups. This will ensure that channels of communication are established and maintained. An assessment of trends in participation by ethnicity will be included in the mid-term review of this plan in 2010.”