The children of higher professionals, managers and employers continue to dominate the most "prestigious" courses at third level, particularly in universities, a new report from the Higher Education Authority has found.
Courses which provide access to the professions - medicine, law, veterinary science and dentistry - remain dominated by children of higher professionals, many of whom work in these areas, the report says.
The introduction to the report by the chairman of the HEA, Dr Don Thornhill, states: "The more prestigious the sector and field of study, the greater the social inequality in participation levels."
Children of higher professionals and employers make up more than 55 per cent of those taking law courses, for example, compared to 0.5 per cent from unskilled backgrounds and 3.1 per cent from semi-skilled back grounds.
The report notes that children of higher professionals and employers are particularly strongly represented in the universities, whereas children of skilled, unskilled and semi-skilled workers have their highest representation in the institutes of technology.
The report, Social Background of Higher Education Entrants, was written by UCD researchers Prof Patrick Clancy and Ms Joy Wall. It will be presented to a conference in Dublin this morning, organised by the HEA, to discuss equity at third level.
The authors state that increasing the number of students who remain in school until Leaving Certificate is one of the most effective ways to improve access to third level. Participation by the children of professionals and employers is now reaching "saturation point", they add, and this gives scope for "further reduction in inequality".
The report says that there has been an increase in the number of disadvantaged pupils reaching third level, but it is small. For example, students from households headed by a semi-skilled or unskilled worker made up 0.49 per cent of those participating at third level. This compares with 0.41 per cent in 1992 and 0.27 per cent in 1986. It says that the small increase is not unexpected, because overall participation rates at third level are increasing.
Even when students get similarly low exam results, those from professional backgrounds have a greater chance of progressing to third level. For example, only 9 per cent of students from unskilled backgrounds with four passes get to third level, whereas 30 per cent of those with the same results from a higher professional family reach college.
"However, for those achieving higher grades in the Leaving Certificate, the social differentials in the transitions to higher education are not significant", it adds.
The report describes the increase in the number of students from professional backgrounds going to third level since 1980 as "striking". About 90 per cent of children from a higher professional background reach this level. This percentage is not expected to increase any further.
Students from farming backgrounds continue to increase their presence at third level, with participation up from 53 per cent to 75 per cent between 1992 and 1998. "The farmers' group is now one of the three socio-economic groups for whom the participation rate exceeds three-quarters", says the report.
Commenting on the findings last night, Mr Julian de Spainn, president of Union of Students in Ireland, said: "This report makes very depressing reading. While there has been some decline in inequality since 1980, it is still the case that poorer students are four or five times less likely to go to college than other students."
One of the surprising patterns in the report was the "modest improvement" in the number of children of "salaried employees" (pilots, insurance brokers, auctioneers, sales people etc) and intermediate non-manual workers (clerks, typists, shop assistants etc) going to college. The researchers had expected a greater increase in their numbers, but they remain at 1980 levels.
Mr de Spainn said: "It is now 18 years since Prof Clancy's first report on participation in higher education. Since then we have had a succession of ministers for education promising to tackle this issue. Today's report shows that we have made only very slight progress in those 18 years."
He added: "The issue of participation in higher education must now be prioritised. Under the National Development Plan, £13.4 million will be spent next year on a third-level access fund. This sum represents less than 2 per cent of the £800 million which is spent on higher and further education. Extra resources should now be allocated as a matter of urgency."