It is open to everybody, or just to those born in Ireland, without a disability, or with enough money to see them through the comparatively costly experience of being an overseas student?

It has to be stated that the third-level sector has been progressive in putting in place the measures required to try to ensure inclusiveness, and these efforts have been recognised by the Equality Authority.

"We have seen, in thirdlevel, the emergence of a good quality equality infrastructure, in terms of equality officers, policies and strategies, " said Niall Crowley, CEO of the Equality Authority. "The key now, having taken these steps, is to generate further outcomes, and an important challenge is to embed a focus on equality into the decision making processes."

Of course, while this infrastructure is in place, it should allow each educational establishment to deal with any issues of equality and access as they arise. But this is no reason to allow vigilance to slip regarding equality at third-level.

"It is important to stress that there continues to be significant challenges, although it is true that equality infrastructure is beginning to deliver on people who have experienced inequality in third-level education, " said Crowley.

What is certainly true is that Ireland has benefited, culturally and otherwise, from the numbers of international students who have chosen Ireland as a base for their studies . . . and who could afford the education without benefiting from the government subsidies that make third-level practically free for Irish people. But there are other students who cannot afford the price . . . and who are finding themselves marginalised by the Irish educational system.

"Many colleges look at international students as a way of making money, " said Hamid Khodabakhshi, the new National Education Officer at USI (the Union of Students in Ireland), who has a specific remit as an "advocate for inclusion". "But there are a number of international people in Ireland who are here for different reasons, and who have not travelled for education. Is it fair that they should be denied third-level education because they cannot afford the fees required of an international student? For example, there are many refugees in Ireland . . . but their children cannot get into thirdlevel education, because they have not been naturalised."

While Khodabakhshi described the CAO system as "reasonably fair", he believes that a system which prioritises Irish students over international students as intrinsically unfair.

"Some colleges do reserve places for international students, " he said. "But they view the issue differently, describing it as a "market".

International students can walk into a college, as long as they are prepared to pay between 8,000 and 17,000 to do so. This should not be the case, and academic achievement should be the main criterion by which entry into college is achieved."

Khodabakhshi believes that opening our educational system to international students living in Ireland will bring great benefits to the country . . . by tapping into the only sustainable resource that the country has.

"The more graduates that Ireland produces, the richer it will be, " he said. "Iran, where I come from, has lots of oil. Ireland has no natural resources, so the economy depends on producing thirdlevel graduates."

It is not only in the area of international students that Khodabakhshi feels that Ireland could do more to improve participation. He also believes that more needs to be done for people with disabilities . . . in terms of physical access, IT facilities and basic understanding of the needs of disabled people.

"It is an improving area, but more needs to be done, " he said. "And this is a subject which needs more attention, not just from the colleges, but from the higher authorities involved in education."

There is, of course, no higher authority than the Department of Education and Science (DES), and, according to the Department, much progress has been achieved to date in removing the barriers to accessing higher education that were documented in the Action Group on Access to Higher Education report in 2001.

"Achieving a more equitable higher education system has been a long-standing priority for the Department of Education and Science and the Higher Education Authority (HEA), " said a department source. "The commitment in policy and legislation to tackling social inclusion through education has been followed through with a large investment of resources in student support and third level access measures under both the previous and current National Development Plans. The objective is that, by 2013, more students with a disability, mature students and those from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, including members of the travelling community and refugees, will be supported in progressing to higher education."

One example of Departmental action can be seen in the work of the National Office for Equity of Access to Higher Education, which administers, on behalf of the DES, the Fund for Students with Disabilities. Grants are provided for students who have serious sensory, physical and/or communicative disabilities, and the level of resources and the uptake by students on the Fund have grown significantly in recent years. For example, in 2000/2001, 1.2 million was allocated to just 512 students, while, by 2005/2006 the figure had grown to over 8.1 million, allocated to 2,032 students.

"The Department's investment is paying dividends, and the participation of students from a number of national target groups has risen over the last ten to fifteen years" said the DES spokesperson. "For example, in 1998, just 23% of young people from a semi or unskilled worker background went to college. A survey published last year by the HEA indicates that up to 40% of young people from this group are now progressing on to higher education."

There are also upward trends in the participation of other groups. The proportion of students with a disability in higher education has trebled from just 0.6% of undergraduates in 1994 to 2.4% in the most recent study by Association for Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD).