• Education
• First-level (Primary Education)
• Second-level (Post Primary)
• Third-level
• Fourth-level
• Health Services
• Social Welfare

Education

Education in Ireland is compulsory from age 6 to 16 or until students have completed three years of second level education. However, most children enrol in first-level (primary) school before age 6. The average age for starting school is 4 years. Many aspects of the administration of the Irish education system are centralised in the Department of Education & Science. Public expenditure on education accounts for around 16 per cent of Government current spending and approximately 5 per cent of GNP.

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First-level (Primary) Education

The primary education sector serves some 470,000 pupils. There are over 3,200 schools at first-level. The great majority of these receive capital funding from the State, supplemented by local contributions. Primary education emphasises a child-centred approach with a curriculum related to the child’s needs and interests.

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Second-level (Post Primary) Education

The second-level sector comprises secondary, vocational, community and comprehensive schools. There are over 360,000 students in this sector attending over 750 schools.

Almost 60 per cent of students at second-level attend secondary schools. These schools are privately owned and managed. Most are managed by religious orders and the rest by boards of governors or by individuals. The State meets over 90 per cent of the cost of the teachers’ salaries. The vast majority of secondary schools belong to the free education scheme and receive allowances and capitation grants from the State.

Vocational schools, educating just over a quarter of second-level students, are administered by Vocational Education Committees. The State provides some 90 per cent of their costs. The balance is generated by the Committees themselves. Community and comprehensive schools, educating 14 per cent of second-level students, receive individual budgets from the State.  

Second-level education consists of a three-year Junior Cycle followed by a two- or three-year Senior Cycle. In the Senior Cycle there is an optional Transition Year Programme. During the final two years of Senior Cycle students take one of three programmes - the established Leaving Certificate, the Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme or the Leaving Certificate Applied.

Department of Education and Science

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Third-level Education

The third-level education sector consists of universities, technological colleges and colleges of education. All of these are substantially funded by the State and are autonomous and self-governing. In recent years, several independent private colleges have opened offering mainly business-related courses.

There are more than 140,000 students in full time third-level education.  Almost half of Ireland’s young people proceed from second to third level and some 50 per cent of these take degree level programmes.

There are four universities, the University of Dublin (Trinity College), the National University of Ireland (NUI), the University of Limerick and Dublin City University.

The NUI has four constituent colleges, NUI Dublin, NUI Cork, NUI Galway and NUI Maynooth.  The Royal College of Surgeons, the National College of Art and Design, the Institute of Public Administration and the Milltown Institute of Theology and Philosophy are also recognised colleges of the NUI.

Institutes of Technology (13) are located around the country offering education and training, full-time and part-time, for trade and industry in the area of business studies, engineering and technology, and science and paramedicine.

The Dublin Institute of Technology is the country’s largest third-level institution with some 15,000 students.  It has constituent colleges specialising in technology, catering, marketing and design, commerce and music.

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Fourth Level Education

In 2006, the Government published its Strategy for Science Technology and Innovation. The strategy sets out a vision and roadmap for the coherent development of research, technological development and innovation with a view to supporting Ireland’s continuing development as a knowledge economy.

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) have a critical role to play in 4th Level Ireland. The vast bulk of research is carried out in these institutions. The last ten years have seen very significant increases in funding for research being carried out in HEIs, much of it coming through the Higher Education Authority’s Programme for Research in Third Level Institutions (PRTLI) and major research initiatives funded by Science Foundation Ireland. Government research support is set to continue to increase under the Natioanl Development Plan, 2007-2013.

Health Services

Public expenditure on health accounts for around 24 per cent of Government current spending and approximately 8% per cent of GNP.  The expenditure is allocated to hospitals, community health services, community welfare services, community protection services, psychiatric services and services for the handicapped.

The health services in Ireland are centrally directed by the Department of Health and Children.  The provision of Health and Personal Social Services for everyone living in Ireland is the responsibility of the Health Service Executive (HSE) under the Health Act, 2004.  The objective of the Executive is to use the resources available to it in the most beneficial, effective and efficient manner to improve, promote and protect the health and welfare of the public.   

The HSE manages services through a structure designed to put patients and clients at the centre of the organisation.  It has three clearly defined interdependent areas - Health and Personal Social Services, Support Services and Reform & Innovation.  All of the services provided by the HSE to the public are delivered through four Administrative Areas - Dublin Mid- Leinster, Dublin North-East, West, and South.

The participation of voluntary bodies in the provision of services is encouraged and many voluntary organisations receive grants from the State. The health services are financed out of central taxation.

Those with low incomes and persons aged 70 years and over receive medical services free of charge. The rest of the population can avail of the public hospital services at a relatively low charge. They also have to pay certain charges, such as for visits to the family doctor.

Patients in public hospitals may opt to be treated privately. There are a number of private hospitals, some 14 per cent of the total, which essentially serve private patients. There is a system of health insurance to help meet the costs of medical treatment.

In 2006, the birth rate was 15.2 per 1,000 people, based on a total of 64,237 births registered during the year.  Over 99 per cent of births take place in hospitals.  The death rate for 2006 was 6.5 per 1,000 people based on a total of 27,479 deaths registered.

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Social Welfare

The Social Welfare system covers all of the internationally recognised forms of social protection. Incorporating a mix of both social insurance and social assistance programmes, it provides financial support to people in certain situations such as unemployment, illness, old age or widowhood.

Other features of the system include supports for people seeking employment, in-work benefits and family support for people at work on low pay, free or reduced-cost dental and optical care, and a range of secondary benefits such as free travel for pensioners and financial support towards the cost of fuel, TV licences and telephone rental charges.

Spending on social welfare accounts for approximately 28% of gross current Government expenditure (about 9% of GNP) and provides benefits more than 1.5 million people.

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