Funding for Equipment and Services

The Higher Education Authority (HEA) Fund for Students with Disabilities aims to assist students with disabilities and specific learning difficulties to participate in Further Education. It provides grants towards the provision of services and the purchase of equipment for students with disabilities attending courses in the College. It is funded by the Government under the National Development Plan 2007-2013 with assistance from the European Social Fund.  

If you are offered a place on a course of study in Senior College Dun Laoghaire, you may need supports in order to better access your course. The kind of supports needed may vary from person to person but can include the following:

1. use of assistive technology equipment and software e.g. laptops, Kurzweil reading software, etc
2. additional tuition
3. personal assistance
4. transport e.g. car mileage costs
5. use of an electronic notetaker
6. use of a sign language interpreter
7. reader
8. exam accommodations 

To access these supports SCD can apply on your behalf to the National Office for Equity of Access to Higher Education for equipment or services. 

Details on Application Procedure

In consultation with you, the College will submit an application to the HEA on your behalf. The closing date each academic year is usually early October. Contact the College Disability Advisers, Odette Lawlor or Catherine Mc Kinney (guidance@scd.ie), immediately on course commencement to find out more about this fund and to fill in the application form. If you are unable to attend your chosen course without supports such as a sign language interpreter or a personal assistant then, it is essential that you contact College in May as these supports take time to put in place. It is advisable for new students to contact the Disability Advisers in the first two weeks in September before College starts. Unfortunately, there may be a delay in processing applications received during the summer months (June, July and August).

Your application cannot be processed without your PPS number and supporting documentation.

• For example, if you have a specific learning difficulty, you will need to submit an assessment by an educational psychologist with your application. If you haven't been assessed, you will need to be assessed before starting College. The HEA have introduced new guidelines that the psychological report diagnosing specific learning difficulties must not be more than five years old. Contact the Dyslexia Association (01-6790276) for information about assessment and a list of educational psychologists. As there is a long waiting list in the Dyslexia Association, you can also contact the Psychological Society of Ireland. The society has a list of registered educational psychologists on their website psihq.ie
• If you have a long term/chronic disability or illness - you will need to submit a report from your medical consultant or a letter from an association such as the National Council for the Blind and Visually Impaired or the National Association for Deaf and Hearing Impaired giving details of your disability and outlining the kind of supports you require.
• Your PPS number
  
  
  Funding is not provided for any costs associated with assessment or diagnosis of a disability. More general information is available on Studentfinance.ie. 

Useful Contacts

The Association for Higher Education Access and Disability (AHEAD)
This Association has some good publications such as 'Assessing Third Level Education In Ireland', a handbook for students with disabilities and learning difficulties. Another useful publication is 'A Guide to Funding for People with Disabilities in Mainstream Vocational Training'. Phone: 01-7164396.Email: ahead@ahead.ie  Website: ahead.ie.

The Dyslexia Association
Association for Adults and Children with specific learning difficulties
Tel: 01 679 0276. Email: info@dyslexia.ie Website: dyslexia.ie

National Association for Deaf and Hearing Impaired
Tel: 01 872 3800. Minicom: 01(817 5777) Email: nad@iol.ie. Text messages: 01 878 3629. Videophone: 01 817 1400. Website: nadi.ie

National Council for the Blind and Visually Impaired
Tel: 1850 334353 Email: info@ncbi.ie Website: ncbi.ie