Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 July 2023
1435. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if there was an underspend in the fund for students with disabilities in each of the years 2017 to 2021; the extent of any such underspend; if and where any underspend in funding was reassigned; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36244/23]
View answerThe purpose of the Fund for Students with Disabilities (FSD) is to provide funding to higher education institutions to assist them in offering supports and services to eligible students with disabilities so that they can participate on an equal basis with their peers. In the higher education sector, the FSD is managed by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) on behalf of my Department.
Higher Education Expenditure
Please see details of expenditure for the Higher Education Sector from 2017 to 2021.
|
Year |
Budgetary allocation* |
Savings before allocation towards strategic initiatives |
|
2016/17 academic year |
€9.6m |
- €387,314 |
|
2017/18 academic year |
€9.6m |
- €726,433 |
|
1st October 2018 to 31st December 2019** |
€9.6m |
See detail below. Underspend reallocated to strategic initiatives. |
|
2020 calendar year*** |
€9.6m |
- €676,749 |
|
2021 calendar year*** |
€9.6m |
- €1,369,435 |
*Budgetary allocation is on a calendar basis with any underspends prior to 2020 on an academic year basis.
The pandemic had an impact on spend in 2020 and 2021 including reductions in travel costs and Personal Assistant costs due to off campus learning
There was €6.7m in unspent balances from the 2018 and 2019 allocations. This was primarily due to the transition of the FSD for Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) in Ireland from academic year to a calendar year which took place in 2018, in line with the recommendations of the Review of the Fund for Students with Disabilities published in October 2017.
In this context, as part of their 2020 FSD allocation, the HEA advised higher education institutions that historical FSD underspends incurred up to 31 December 2019 as reported to the HEA in early 2020 could be used for the following purposes:
development of strategic initiatives (with a focus on strategic projects for the provision of services to students with disabilities relating to disability services), subject to prior approval by the HEA;
having regard to an increase of the number of students supported under the fund, a proportion of up to 20% of the underspend could be used to complement 2020 FSD allocation;
making provisions for group/shared assistive technology or other group/shared support which will result in savings in the cost of provision of support to individual students.
Of the €6.7m in unspent balances from the 2018 and 2019 allocations, €0.9m was used for points 2 and 3 referred above. The remaining funds of €5.8m were allocated to development of strategic initiatives.
Higher Education FSD Strategic Initiatives
My Department approved the deployment of unspent funding on strategic initiatives which would advance the National Access Plan objectives of supporting students with disabilities at an institutional level.
HEIs were invited to submit proposals to the HEA in 2020. Upon receipt and following review of these proposals the HEA then engaged with my Department, which sought and was granted approval by the Department of Public Expenditure & Reform in December 2020 for the underspends to be carried forward into 2021 and for the funding to be used on the Strategic Initiative proposals submitted by HEIs.
The initiatives, which now encompass 24 Higher Education Institutions and over 100 projects and just under €5.8m in expenditure, focus on the strategic development of disability support services in HEIs as well as enhancing supports for students with a disability, improving college campuses and assisting HEI staff with training and development.
The following is an overview of the range of projects approved:
• Commitment to the embedding of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and mainstreaming principles in HEI teaching and learning practices through e.g. recruitment of staff, staff training, technological supports and other student supports
• Enhancement of online teaching and learning experience and supports for students with disabilities e.g. captioning, virtual learning environments,
• Enhancement of campus experience for students with disabilities e.g. wayfinding apps, sensory assistance reporting
• Expansion and upgrading of Assistive Technology (AT) equipment and supports
• Improvements in physical access and refurbishments of spaces, e.g. autism-friendly rooms and spaces, tactile wayfinding maps, loop systems for deaf and hard-of-hearing students
• Projects that support better transitions to higher education for students with disabilities
• Developing and delivering initiatives to promote positive mental health and well-being
• Commitment to research and data analysis to establish best practice guidelines for access and disability services
• Conducting campus accessibility audits which will inform accessibility guidelines and policies
• Making specialist support services available to students with disabilities e.g. Occupational Therapist supports, Assistive Technology coordinators, well-being and support coordinators, alternative formatting
Following a review of project reports in 2021, DPER approved a carryover of funds into 2022 in respect of some projects. As of July 2023, 22 HEIs have completed their FSD Strategic Initiative projects. This includes the five HEIs that completed their projects in 2021. DPER approved further carryover of fund into 2023 for the completion of projects in two HEIs. The HEA Executive will request reports from these HEIs later in 2023.
Underspends occurring in respect of the Fund for Students with a Disability in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) since 2021 are netted off future year allocations.
Further Education and Training FSD
Within the Further Education and Training Sector, the Fund for Student Disabilities is concentrated on PLC provision. Responsibility for the Fund transferred to SOLAS and a budget adjustment of €1.942m was made in 2020. The expenditure figures for 2020 and 2021 are shown below and reflect the impact of the pandemic:
|
Year |
Expenditure |
Savings on Allocation |
|
2020 |
€1,125,562 |
€816,438 |
|
2021 |
€3,163,800 |
€1,252,756 |
SOLAS advises that the 2020 savings were recovered as part of the overall ETB balancing statement process and were returned to the Department in 2020 while the savings in 2021 were netted off the 2022 allocation.
