A father rang me in late August a few years ago because his daughter had missed an offer by twenty points. Somebody had mentioned HEAR to him at a match. She would very likely have qualified, and the deadline had passed six months earlier.
That conversation is the reason I raise this in every parent talk I give in Ireland, and I raise it in the autumn.
What are HEAR and DARE?
They are the two national supplementary admission routes into higher education in Ireland. HEAR is for school leavers from socio economically disadvantaged backgrounds, and DARE is for school leavers whose disability has had a significant educational impact. Both can lead to a place on reduced Leaving Certificate points, together with support once the student is there.
Neither replaces the CAO. A student applies through the CAO as normal, indicates there that they wish to apply, and then completes the additional HEAR or DARE sections. That matters, because the CAO application itself has to be in by the normal closing date, which in the 2026 cycle was 17:00 on 1 February 2026.
They are not a shortcut. They are a recognition that the same points mean different things from different starting positions.
When are the deadlines?
In the spring, and if you take one thing away, take this. In the 2026 CAO cycle, HEAR and DARE forms closed at 17:00 on 1 March 2026, with supporting documents due by 10 March 2026. Dates for the following cycle are published by the CAO each autumn, so check cao.ie for the current year.
Missing that date cannot be fixed afterwards. There is no late application route for the access schemes in the way there is for the CAO itself.
I would have this date on the fridge from October.
Why do people miss it?
Because it lands in the worst possible fortnight of the Leaving Cert year. The start of March brings mock results, coursework deadlines and oral examination preparation, and a form requiring financial documentation and school signatures is exactly the thing that gets postponed in that week.
The paperwork also takes longer than families expect. Evidence of income, school confirmation, and in DARE’s case professional documentation all have to be gathered.
Start in November. It is a dull job in November and very nearly an impossible one in March, and the difference between those two is entirely a matter of when somebody wrote it in a calendar.
Who qualifies for HEAR?
Assessment is against published indicators covering household income, socio economic group, and whether the Irish student’s school and area are designated as disadvantaged. The CAO publishes the current criteria and thresholds each cycle, and because the thresholds are reviewed annually the only sensible course is to read the current year’s criteria.
My practical advice to Irish families is to apply if there is any chance at all. The assessment is done on the evidence submitted, and the cost of applying and not qualifying is an afternoon.
A great many families who would qualify never apply because they assume they earn too much, or because the form looks like it is meant for somebody else. Neither assumption is a good reason not to find out.
Who qualifies for DARE?
School leavers whose disability has had a significant negative impact on their education, evidenced through the required documentation. That generally includes professional confirmation of the condition and evidence of its educational impact. The CAO publishes the current list of eligible conditions and the documentation required for each of them.
The documentation is the part that catches people. Reports have to meet specified requirements, and obtaining one can take months, which is another argument for starting in the autumn.
The school’s guidance counsellor deals with this every year and is the right first call.
Does this only matter for students who will just miss out?
No, and that is a common misreading. A student who comfortably makes their points still gains the support side of these schemes, which can include orientation, tutoring, and a named contact in the college. For a student who is the first in their family to go to college, that support is often worth more than the points reduction.
Growing Up in Ireland, in findings on thirteen year olds published in 2023, reported that sixty nine per cent of mothers expected their child to get a degree or higher.
Expectation is widespread in Irish households. Familiarity with how the system actually works is not, and the two are easily confused for one another.
What else should a first generation applicant know?
That the information gap is real and it is not a reflection of ability. ESRI research by McCoy and Byrne, published in 2022, found that shadow education uptake among Leaving Certificate students ran at 68.1 per cent in high income households against 37.5 per cent in households in income poverty, and at 62 per cent where parents held a degree against 36 per cent where parents had lower secondary education only.
The same research concluded that shadow education does not produce a performance advantage on average, with some benefit found for lower achieving students. That is worth knowing for any family feeling priced out of grinds.
I work in schools in every part of the country, and the difference is rarely ability. It is usually information.
Are there routes other than HEAR and DARE?
Several, and they are worth knowing about before results day. Further education offers a route into higher education through QQI awards, where a student holding a full Level 5 or Level 6 major award can apply through the CAO under the Higher Education Links Scheme, as QQI sets out.
Some courses reserve a quota of places for QQI applicants, considered in an early offer round in August. Apprenticeships are another route entirely, with SOLAS reporting a record 9,352 new apprentice registrations in 2024 across 77 apprenticeship offerings.
A points shortfall in August is not the end of the road, and it helps enormously if a family knew that in advance.
What should we do this term?
Three things, and all of them in the autumn. Ask the guidance counsellor whether your child might qualify for either scheme, start gathering any documentation that takes time to obtain, and put the CAO deadlines in the family calendar as soon as they are published.
That is an hour of work that occasionally changes what a student can do with the following four years of their life. I have never met a family who regretted doing it, and I have met several who regretted not knowing about it until the August after the exams.
The Questions That Come Up Every Year About HEAR and DARE
We are not on a low income. Is HEAR worth applying for?
Possibly, because the assessment uses several indicators including school and area designation, and not income alone. The thresholds are reviewed annually. Read the current year’s criteria on cao.ie and apply if there is any chance, because applying costs an afternoon.
My son has dyslexia. Does he qualify for DARE?
He may, if the condition has had a significant educational impact and the documentation meets the published requirements. The evidence is what decides it, more than the diagnosis on its own. Speak to the school’s guidance counsellor early, because reports can take months to obtain.
When exactly is the deadline?
In the 2026 cycle the forms closed at 17:00 on 1 March 2026, with documents due by 10 March 2026. The equivalent dates for later cycles are published by the CAO each autumn, so check cao.ie each year.
Does applying through these schemes affect the course he gets?
It does not change the course or the qualification in any way. It can mean an offer at reduced points and brings access to support services. The degree at the end is identical to everyone else’s.
What if we miss the deadline?
There is no late route for the access schemes, which is why the date matters so much. If it is missed, the CAO application still stands, and further education routes through QQI awards remain a genuine path into higher education the following year.
Help Through the Application Year
The access schemes are the part of the CAO system most often missed entirely, and they are missed because the paperwork falls in February and March when everybody is thinking about mocks.
I run Study Skills Ireland, and I am Enda O’Doherty. The base is Waterford and the work is in schools right across the country. The student study skills seminar is the version of this done with students in the room, which is a different thing from reading it. The talk for parents exists because a student can follow all of this and still be undermined by a well meaning household. It covers the same ground for the adults. Some students need the thing done with them instead of explained to them, and that is what private study coaching is for. Come through the contact page and tell me the specific problem. I will say plainly if none of this is what you need.
