The Higher Education Authority says new measures are needed to encourage more young people to go to college.
A new HEA report has revealed that the children of farmers are three times more likely to go to college than the average school-leaver. The study also shows more Irish people are now going to college, with attendance among 18 to 20-year-olds up from 44% to 52% in the past five years.
The report - which has been detailed in the Irish Independent - shows there is a huge gap in attendance rates between some parts of the country.
Figures from the 2011-2012 academic year show that 99% of school leavers in Dublin 6 go on to higher education. This is compared to just 15% in Dublin 17.
Despite high figures for certain parts of the county, less than half of Dubliners in the 18 to 20 age group go on to attend third-level - a figure below the national average.
Counties with the highest proportion of school leavers going to college include Galway, Mayo and Leitrim at 60%, while the lowest is Donegal at 41%.
Family backgrounds also play a part. The children of farmers are three times more likely than the average student to attend third-level, ahead of the sons and daughters of the self-employed and professional classes.
Tom Boland is the Chief Executive of the HEA, and says we have a "huge reservoir of untapped talent":
Niamh Hourigan is Senior Lecturer in Sociology at UCC, and on Newstalk Breakfast this morning she discussed some of the report's findings:
Originally posted 7:30am
