125. Deputy John McGuinness asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the actions taken by his Department with the third level sector to promote student exchange programmes with other countries including Taiwan that already has such a program in place. [50199/26]

The Higher Education Authority (HEA) is responsible for supporting and promoting student exchange in higher education on behalf of my Department. This is undertaken primarily through Ireland's participation in the Erasmus+ programme, including for both intra-European mobility and exchanges with partner countries worldwide.

The HEA, as the national agency for Erasmus+ in higher education, manages the allocation of funding to institutions on a competitive basis and provides ongoing guidance and oversight to ensure quality delivery and alignment with programme objectives.

In the context of exchanges with countries outside the Erasmus+ programme area, including Taiwan, the principal funding mechanism is KA171, also known as International Credit Mobility. This Erasmus+ action plan enables Irish higher education institutions to establish partnerships with institutions globally, enabling both student and staff mobility.

Irish institutions actively engage in KA171 to build international partnerships, and the HEA works closely with the sector to support international mobility, including in Asia, with a strong emphasis on inclusion and widening participation, ensuring opportunities are accessible to students from all backgrounds while maintaining high-quality outcomes.

Participation in exchanges with Taiwan is a matter for individual higher education institutions, which may establish partnerships with Taiwanese institutions under the Erasmus+ framework and apply for funding through the relevant Erasmus+ calls. Taiwan is eligible to participate as a partner country under the international dimension of the programme.

According to information provided by the HEA, there has been one student mobility to Taiwan recorded under the current Erasmus+ programme to date.