AHEAD has announced the publication of its latest annual report detailing the participation of disabled students in Disability Support Services (DSS) across all publicly funded Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) in Ireland for the 2023/24 academic year.
AHEAD is an independent non-profit organisation working with and for disabled people to shape inclusive and empowering environments in tertiary education and employment.
This report represents the only institutionally verified dataset on the participation of disabled students in Irish higher education. AHEAD has been monitoring this data since 1993, producing annual reports since 2008/09. The report benchmarks year-on-year findings, offering a longitudinal view of disabled student engagement through both fields of study and disability categories.
The key findings:
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22,519 students were registered with Disability Support Services (DSS) in Irish HEIs — representing 8% of the total student population.
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This marks an 8.6% increase in registered students compared to the 2022/23 academic year.
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There has been a 364% increase in the number of disabled students registering for support over the last 15 years.
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Non-disclosure remains high, indicating a significant cohort of students with disabilities are not registered with DSS.
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Almost 1 in 8 students registered with services were not eligible for the Fund for Students with Disabilities (FSD).
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Specific Learning Difficulties were the most common category, comprising 38.8% of all disclosed disabilities.
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Over 90% of disabled students were recommended exam accommodations following their needs assessments.
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The postgraduate participation rate among disabled students remains low at 3.3%, compared to 9.3% of undergraduates.
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Intellectual Disability is now included as a standalone category in the report.
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New analysis includes DARE (Disability Access Route to Education) figures for 2023/24 and a qualitative section based on feedback from DSS staff.
https://hea.ie/assets/uploads/2024/09/Equal-Access-Report-September-2024-PDF.pdf
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