“Leaving Cert grade inflation means measures are likely to be needed for next year’s exam students to make sure they have fair access to higher and further education …” (more)
[Wayne O’Connor, Independent, 5 September]
“The Central Applications Office will today issue a total of 6,163 offers of college places to students. Round zero offers are made to CAO applicants who are not competing with students awaiting Leaving Certificate 2021 grades, or who are assessed on other criteria …” (more)
[Jess Casey, Irish Examiner, 5 August]
“The State’s colleges and universities have offered extra places for students for the third year in a row, but this cannot keep happening, the Irish Universities Association (IUA) has said. On Tuesday, the Cabinet considered plans to spend €24 million to pay for 4,600 more college places to cope with extra demand this year, but also pent-up demand from last year …” (more)
[Martin Wall, Irish Times, 14 July]
“Extra capacity at third level for students to study medicine, pharmacy and law are among proposals to be brought to Cabinet on Tuesday. The proposal is for just over 4,600 additional college places to be established. Minister for Higher Education Simon Harris is expected to seek Government approval for €24 million to fund the extra places including 440 in health sciences like nursing, pharmacy and medicine and 450 in science subjects. There are to be 120 extra places in education-related courses and 102 in law …” (more)
[Cormac McQuinn, Irish Times, 13 July]
“Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the expected number of fourth-level graduates in both technical and academic sectors in the future in terms of the demand and the ability to meet that demand; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 8 July]
“Extra places in universities for medicine and pharmacy students will be included in a plan by Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris to create 4,500 extra third-level places. The news comes after it emerged that the points needed for some high-demand courses will rise as students who sat the written Leaving Cert last November take up places now offered to them …” (more)
[Brian Mooney and Cormac McQuinn, Irish Times, 9 July]
“New college places to be created this year will be enough to offset the potential effect accredited grades and increased demand will have on this year’s race for courses. That is according to Education Minister Norma Foley, speaking ahead of the Leaving Certificate exams getting underway tomorrow …” (more)
[Jess Casey, Irish Examiner, 8 June]
“Mayo TD Rose Conway-Walsh has called on the government to stop downplaying the scale of the increase of applicants to the CAO and to take action to make additional places available. The Sinn Féin spokesperson for Further and Higher Education, Conway-Walsh stated: ‘The Leaving Cert results being delayed until September 3 will be very stressful news for students and their families …'” (more)
[Connaught Telegraph, 6 June]
“Cavan-Monaghan TD Pauline Tully has called for an increase in places available for those studying for a mental health qualification. Teachta Tully said …” (more)
[Sinn Féin, 31 May]
“Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of students attending third-level education for the academic year 2020-2021; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 20 May]
“Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which he expects third and fourth-level student numbers to increase at academic and technical level in the future in line with demand; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 20 May]
“The number of first years at college will rise above 50,000 for the first time with the addition of around 3,000 more third-level places this year. It is hoped the increase in places will absorb the pressure that the Covid-19 pandemic is heaping on the third-level entry process. Figures have to be finalised, but higher education colleges have, so far, identified up to 3,000 extra places that can be offered for 2021/22 …” (more)
[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 27 April]
“Higher education institutions are ‘creaking’ and will struggle to provide additional college places in key areas this year aimed at easing CAO points pressure, universities have warned. The Government has pledged to provide an additional 2,000 third-level college places in high-demand courses this year in response to record number of applicants and expected grade inflation this year …” (more)
[Carl O’Brien, Irish Times, 14 April]
“Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if funding is available for students wishing to continue to third-level education abroad in September 2021 given the likely rise in CAO points requirements for domestic courses; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 24 March]
“Brexit has fuelled the huge leap in demand for college places this year, and is likely to contribute to driving up the points for some courses. Almost half the extra 6,268 CAO applications are from students living outside the Republic …” (more)
[Katherine Donnelly, Independent, 8 March]
“Internal Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) documentation highlights senior university officials expressing concern at the Covid-19 pandemic’s impact on international student recruitment. This documentation, seen by The Detail, also shows how the university values just eight international students as having an economic impact equivalent to £1 million …” (more)
[Rory Winters, The Detail, 24 February]
“Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if an additional 2,500 college course places will be provided in 2021, in addition to the 2,500 places provided in 2020 …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 18 February]
“The University Observer has found that there has been a significant increase in the class sizes in the UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School, particularly in MSc Business Analytics and MSc Digital Marketing, based on records obtained by Freedom of Information Requests …” (more)
[Andrea Andres, University Observer, 16 February]
“Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein): To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of persons who accepted an offer of a place through the CAO in 2019 and 2020, respectively; and if he will make a statement on the matter …” (more)
[Dáil written answers, 17 February]
“A new report, published by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) today, has revealed that the number of students at Irish higher educational institutions has steadily increased and that there is now a higher proportion of female students attending Universities or Associate/Affiliate Colleges than men. The report – The Social and Living Conditions of Higher Education Students in Ireland – is part of the Eurostudent VII Report, which collates comparable data on student life across Europe …” (more)
[Maura O’Shea, HEA, 10 February]
