Third level graduates: Figure doubles in 10 years

THE number of college graduates rose by more than 180,000 in a mere four years and has almost doubled in the past decade, according to census figures published yesterday.

The education and qualifications volume from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows there were 829,102 people — or one in four over the age of 15 — with a third-level qualification when the census was taken in April last year. This compares to 646,837, or one in five over-15s, in 2002. In 1996, only 462,288 or one in every six people aged over 15 had a third-level qualification.

Labour Party education spokesman Ruairi Quinn said the increase, almost 80% in a decade, shows that the decision by Labour’s education minister Niamh Bhreathnach in 1995 to abolish third-level fees is paying off substantially.