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Competitiveness, Continuous Improvement and LearningTralee) indicated a non-completion rate of 37 per cent among firstyear students (Healy et al. 1999). Cross country comparisonscarried out by the OECD show that Ireland has a significantly aboveaverage completion rate for third level students (OECD, 2002a). Asignificant step is the forthcoming establishment of the IrishUniversities Quality Board, which will oversee the procedures forquality assurance and improvement in each university and to verifythat they meet best international practice.An important issue is equality of access to third level education. It iswell recognised that there is a positive relationship between parentalincome or socio-economic group and participation in third-leveleducation. The cost of third-level education is clearly a factor. Thisincludes not only direct costs but also the opportunity cost ofearnings foregone. Where the issue is mainly one of cost theabolition of fees, means tested grants and loans for students may gosomeway to overcoming inequality of access. However, where theissue is one of ingrained inequality in earlier education—includingas a result of housing segmentation, schooling quality etc.—orcultural factors, other means have to be employed to encouragewider participation in higher education.Under the PPF,—an Action Group on Third level Access wasestablished to advise the Minister for Education and Science on thedevelopment of Education and Science of a co-ordinated frameworkto promote access by mature and disadvantaged students andstudents with disabilities to third level education (Government ofIreland, 2001). The report of that Working Group examined issuesrelating to access for students from socio-economically disadvantagedbackgrounds, students with disabilities, mature students andthose from disadvantaged communities. The Working Group madesome 78 recommendations to improve access. While the Councilhas not yet discussed these recommendations in detail, it believesthat access to third level education must remain a core priority ofgovernment policy to enhance both economic development and asocially inclusive society.559