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Over €2.8 million announced by Minister Lawless to promote inclusive higher education environments

Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science James Lawless has announced over €2.8 million to promote inclusion in higher education environments across the country.

The Inclusive Environment Fund will support increased participation and success for students, in particular those who may face additional barriers to engaging in higher education, such as students with disabilities and ethnic minority students.

Announcing the funding, Minister Lawless said:

"It is a core priority of Government to ensure that all students feel a sense of belonging in the higher education environment and that all students are supported to succeed.

"This funding will further enable our higher education institutions to put in place practical measures that foster inclusion, in addition to addressing the barriers to full participation faced by specific cohorts of students. It is fitting that today also sees the declaration by providers across the tertiary system of their adoption of the ALTITUDE Charter and their demonstrated commitment to Universal Design and inclusivity."

Just under €450,000 has been specifically ring-fenced to tackle prejudice and racism, in particular towards members of the Irish Traveller and Roma communities, cohorts that are significantly under-represented in higher education in Ireland.

The National Access Plan recognises higher education environments as key enablers of the ambition to increase diversity in higher education and support the success of all students. This additional round of funding under Strand 4 of the Programme for Access to Higher Education (PATH 4) is therefore centred on measures to foster and enhance belonging in higher education for the most underrepresented groups.

Dr Louise Callinan, Head of Access Policy in the HEA, added:

"The Inclusive Environment Fund will enable higher education institutions to further build on the notable progress towards embedding a Universal Design approach.

"PATH 4 funding has played a key role in enabling the development of the ALTITUDE Charter, which presents a significant opportunity to advance progress towards inclusive environments in a strategic, holistic and student-centred manner. I would like to thank AHEAD and all of the institutions who collaborated in its development for their leadership in this initiative. The HEA is actively encouraging institutions to commit Inclusive Environment funding to supporting the next phase of full adoption and implementation of the Charter.

"The participation rate by Traveller and Roma students in higher education remains too low. This funding under PATH 4 will support higher education institutions to implement anti-racism measures that help foster a greater sense of belonging in higher education for Traveller and Roma students."

Managed by the Higher Education Authority (HEA), this funding builds on the achievements of previous PATH 4 investment in 2022, which supported Universal Design measures, including the development of ALTITUDE – the National Charter for Universal Design in Tertiary Education – led by a cross-sectoral project team made up of 6 national agencies, 15 higher education institutions (HEIs) and 6 education and training boards (ETBs).

Today’s announcement of additional PATH 4 investment coincides with the first round of ETBs and HEIs across the tertiary system formally declaring their adoption of the ALTITUDE Charter.

Projects supported by the PATH 4 Inclusive Environment Fund will run until the end of 2026.

Notes

National Access Plan

The fourth National Access Plan (NAP) – a Strategic Action Plan for Equity of Access, Participation and Success in Higher Education 2022-2028 launched on 31 August 2022.

The ambition of the NAP is encapsulated in the two following statements:

(1) That the higher education student body entering, participating in and completing higher education, at all levels and across all programmes, reflects the diversity and social mix of Ireland’s population.

(2) That our higher education institutions are inclusive, universally designed environments which support and foster student success and outcomes, equity and diversity, and are responsive to the needs of students and wider communities.

The NAP sets out six priority goals and thirty-eight objectives, each with its own set of associated actions. The six goals of the NAP are: (1) Inclusivity, (2) Flexibility, (3) Clarity, (4) Coherence, (5) Sustainability and (6) Evidence-driven approach.

The NAP targets underrepresented students, vulnerable students, and students who have experienced disadvantage and who face challenges in accessing higher education and feeling they belong.

The NAP identifies a number of priority-groups who continue to be underrepresented in higher education and which need additional focus and support.

These are students:

  • who are socio-economically disadvantaged
  • who are members of Irish Traveller and Roma communities
  • with disabilities including intellectual disabilities

The NAP also recognises additional priority groups within the socio-economically disadvantaged group, whose life circumstances lead to disadvantage, including those with experience of the care system, domestic violence, and the criminal justice system. A core informing principle of the NAP is the understanding of the intersectionality of disadvantage and that an individual may be a member of one or more of the identified priority groups.

PATH – Programme for Access to Higher Education Funding

PATH is a strategic funding programme, established in 2016, for the delivery of equity of access objectives. It supports the implementation of National Access Plan objectives by providing funding to higher education institutions (HEIs) to deliver innovative measures to improve participation and retention of specific target groups in higher education. PATH is managed by the HEA on behalf of DFHERIS.

PATH currently consists of five strands:

  • PATH 1 - supporting access to initial teacher education
  • PATH 2 - 1916 Bursary Fund for the most socio-economically disadvantaged students
  • PATH 3 - supporting institutional capacity in developing regional and community partnership strategies for increasing access to higher education
  • PATH 4 – two-phase programme supporting inclusive, universally designed higher education environments and course provision for students with intellectual disabilities
  • PATH 5 – funding to support Traveller and Roma students in higher education

PATH 4 Phase 1 (2022 - 2024) – Universal Design Fund

Phase 1 supported the embedding of Universal Design (UD) principles and practices in Higher Education Institutions. €3 million was awarded in 2022.

PATH 4 Phase 1 (2025 - 2026) – Inclusive Environment Fund

Additional funding of over €2.8 million has been awarded to support the implementation of inclusion measures aimed at fostering students’ sense of belonging within higher education environments, including the roll out of sensory maps of college campuses to support autistic learners and measures to tackle prejudice and racism, particularly to challenge racism against members of the Traveller and Roma communities.

A list of HEIs supported by the Inclusive Environment Fund is provided below:

  • Atlantic Technological University (ATU)
  • Dublin City University (DCU)
  • Dundalk Institute of Technology (DkIT)
  • Institute of Art, Design and Technology, Dún Laoghaire (IADT)
  • Marino Institute of Education (MIE)
  • Mary Immaculate College (MIC)
  • Maynooth University (MU)
  • Munster Technological University (MTU)
  • National College of Art and Design (NCAD)
  • RCSI University of Medicine and Health Sciences (RCSI)
  • South East Technological University (SETU)
  • Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin)
  • Technological University of the Shannon: Midlands Midwest (TUS)
  • Trinity College Dublin (TCD)
  • University College Cork (UCC)
  • University College Dublin (UCD)
  • University of Galway
  • University of Limerick (UL)

PATH 4 Phase 2 (2024-2026) – Course provision for Students with Intellectual Disabilities

Phase 2 is a three-year pathfinding pilot to support an enhancement of course provision for students with intellectual disabilities and to inform future policy considerations for students with intellectual disabilities. Over €11 million has been allocated to 11 institutions to implement and evaluate pilot initiatives.

The ALTITUDE Charter

Funded by the HEA under PATH 4, ALTITUDE was developed through extensive cross sectoral collaboration involving six national agencies, fifteen higher education institutions (HEIs) and six Education and Training Board (ETB) representatives, led by Atlantic Technological University (ATU).

AHEAD, an independent non-profit organisation working with and for disabled people to shape inclusive and empowering environments in tertiary education and employment, was the Lead National Collaborator for the project. ALTITUDE was officially launched in March 2024.

Drawing on national and international literature, the Charter recommends key strategic enablers which institutions should put in place to support sustainable implementation of UD and proposes collaborative action under 4 key pillars, which are:

  • Learning, Teaching & Assessment
  • Supports, Services & Social Engagement
  • Physical Environment
  • Digital Environment

On 9 April 2025, AHEAD is leading a national call to action for tertiary institutions to formally adopt the ALTITUDE Charter and to work towards implementing its goals over the coming years.

Further information on the ALTITUDE Charter can be found on the AHEAD website.

You can also access the Charter, Unlocking Inclusion Toolkit, and the Technical Report.

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