Educational supports for Travellers

Travellers are recognised as a minority ethnic group in Ireland. As they are a disadvantaged and marginalised group, Travellers generally don’t access education as easily as the wider population.

The Government published the Traveller and Roma Education Strategy 2024–2030 (pdf) to increase the number of Traveller children:

• Attending early learning and childcare
• Completing the Leaving Certificate
• Entering and completing of further and higher education.

This strategy is part of the National Traveller and Roma Inclusion Strategy II 2024–2028 (pdf).

All children in Ireland can get 2 years of free preschool education before they start primary school. This is called the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) programme, and gives children their first formal early learning experience.

To attend ECCE, your child must be at least 2 years and 8 months, but no older than 5 years and 6 months.

Additional supports 

Traveller children who attend early learning centres can get additional supports through the Equal Start funding model (pdf). Equal Start helps children from a variety of disadvantaged backgrounds to access early education. It includes ‘family link workers’, who support Traveller parents of children aged 1 to 5, to:

• Attend and take part in early learning and childcare
• Use the ECCE programme
• Apply for the National Childcare Scheme (NCS), if applicable

Traveller children have the same right to education as all other children and can access all educational supports, including:

Additional learning supports

A Traveller child with special educational needs can get additional learning supports in primary school and in post-primary school.

Tusla Education Support Service (TESS)

TESS supports school attendance, participation and retention through 3 services:

• The Educational Welfare Service
• The School Completion Programme
• The Home School Community Liaison Scheme.

These services work with schools, families and community supports to help children and young people stay engaged in education.

Through TESS, Tusla aims to support Traveller children where racism and identity-based bullying affects their school attendance. Read more in Tusla’s On The One Road... Our journey towards strengthening Tusla-Traveller connections (pdf).

Travellers can access all general supports for further and higher education, such as:

• Financial supports for third-level education
• Further Education and Training (FET) allowances

There are also specific schemes to help Travellers access and progress in further and higher education:

HEAR scheme

The Higher Education Access Route (HEAR) is a college admissions scheme for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, including members of the Traveller community.

If you are eligible, you may be offered a place on a course with reduced CAO points and can access additional supports when you start college.

Apprenticeships

The Traveller Apprenticeship Incentivisation Programme (TAIP) supports members of the Traveller community to start and complete apprenticeships.

You can get guidance and an annual bursary of up to €3,000 to help with the costs of:

• Travel
• Accommodation
• Equipment.

Employers can also get a bursary of €2,000 when taking on a first-year apprentice from the Traveller community.

Student Accommodation

Student Travellers, who are living independently, can apply for Student Accommodation Assistance to help with their accommodation costs. There are rules about what the funding can be used for, for example, you can’t use it to rent from a family member.

Read the Frequently Asked Questions about Student Accommodation Assistance on Gov.ie.

You can find information about the Government’s Traveller and Roma Education Strategy, including the results of consultations, on Gov.ie.

Read the Traveller and Roma Education Strategy 2024–2030 (pdf).

Who to contact?

You may also be able to access local education supports or community initiatives in your area. If you need support, contact the access or student support office in your education provider to discuss your options.