The number of lay chaplaincy appointments in the higher education sector has remained static and the overall spend has increased despite recommendations in a 2015 review.
In 2015 then Minister for Education Jan O’Sullivan asked the Higher Education Authority (HEA) to conduct a review of higher education institutions to determine existing chaplaincy arrangements across the sector. This was as a result of a campaign by Atheist Ireland.
The review, which was completed in the summer 2016, made a number of recommendations including ensuring value for money, making support services available to students of all faiths (and none) and compliance with public sector appointment criteria.
Several institutions had no public appointment or tendering procedure for the employment of chaplains.
To address the availability of services to students of all faiths, the HEA had suggested at the time that the use of lay chaplains be considered. A lay chaplain is a representative of a religious institution who is not a cleric of that faith.
