New figures from the Higher Education Authority have shown that students in Longford were the most disadvantaged when compared to other counties over the last five years. The HEA study shows how the home address of third level students has affected their equity of access to full education. The latest reports covers students from 2021 to 2024 and shows Longford at the bottom of the table with Dublin at the top. The HEA uses Deprivation Index Scores also known as D.I.S. to assess the needs of higher education students in Ireland.
The report also found that students in Leitrim had, on average, the longest distance to travel to third level education, closely followed by Longford. The midlands county was the only one in the country not to record students from an 'affluent area' and featured a D.I.S. score of minus 4.8. These scores are often used by organisations or Government departments to target investment and supports.
