European funding for Erasmus Programme

Apr 2, 2019 | Political News

European funding for Erasmus Programme

Apr 2, 2019 | Political News

European funding for Erasmus Programme

Apr 2, 2019 | Political News

Irish students can continue to avail of funding for Erasmus+ as the programme continues to grow and develop.

The European Parliament has proposed to increase the budget to over €40 billion for the future period (2021-2027) and this will triple participation in the programme, to around 12 million Europeans, including many from Ireland. The Erasmus+ programmes are among the most popular programmes for students in Ireland.

The Erasmus Programme is a fantastic initiative for young people in Ireland and across all of Europe and I am delighted to see it continue and grow. EU Feedback reports say that most people who have done an Erasmus have said that their experience has encouraged them to be more open-minded and confident in their newly-acquired skills. Erasmus is by far one of the most popular EU programmes operating in Ireland and it really is one of the EU’s success stories.

In Ireland more than 88,000 Irish students and teachers have had a chance to study and train in other EU countries with the support of the Erasmus networks and grants from Europe.

These days, Erasmus Plus, as it’s now known, is not only for university students but has expanded its reach to vocational training, apprenticeships and youth workers.

Statistics show that more than twice as many EU students come to Ireland on Erasmus, as Irish students go to other Member States. Recent figures show that about 3,500 Irish students a year go through Erasmus to other EU countries to study, while about 8,000 EU students a year come here to Ireland.

The top receiving Irish colleges are UCD, followed by the University of Limerick and UCC. The EU countries sending the most students to Ireland for their Erasmus placements are France, Germany and Spain.

Erasmus has been the EU’s flagship programme for education, training, youth and sport since 1987. Millions of young people and thousands from Ireland have enjoyed living in another country, seeing how different and diverse the EU is. This makes Erasmus one of the most popular EU programmes and one of the EU’s success stories.

The geographical scope of the programme has expanded from 11 countries in 1987 to 33 currently (all 28 EU Member States as well as Turkey, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein). The current Erasmus+ programme, running from 2014 to 2020, has a budget of €14.7 billion and will provide opportunities for over four million people to study, train, gain work experience and volunteer abroad.