DISCUSSION PAPER SERIES The Evolution of University Access Programmes in Ireland

(UCD New ERA Coordinator), and all the New ERA team for their extensive assistance in preparing this paper. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the Geary Institute. All errors and omissions remain those of the author. 2 Geary WP/16/2008 The aim of this report is to explore the historical development of third level access programmes in Ireland, that is, programmes aimed at improving access to third level education by the socio-economically disadvantaged. One key objective is to locate the UCD higher education access programme – New ERA – within the context of developments in national policy and access initiatives in Ireland. The report also presents a brief overview of previous evaluations of targeted initiatives in Ireland as well as barriers to Higher Education as outlined by Lynch & O Riordan’s 1996 study which provided the framework for the development of New ERA. Section 2 provides a definition of ‘access ’ and ‘disadvantage’. Section