Léargas, Ireland's national agency for Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps, published its 2025 Annual Report in June 2026, and the numbers describe one of the more understated growth stories in Irish education. Contracted projects rose from 144 in 2021 to 454 in 2025, while funding climbed from 14.8 million euro to 35.8 million euro over the same period. In 2025 alone, contracted projects grew 21%, funding rose 22%, and forecasted participants increased nearly 18%. Of the 454 projects, 374 were Erasmus+ Mobility awards, alongside 49 partnership projects and 31 European Solidarity Corps projects. For an education sector often focused on domestic funding battles, this is a reminder that a substantial, growing, EU-backed channel already exists.

The scale here deserves more attention from Irish education and training leaders than it typically gets. Three things stand out beyond the headline growth: the trajectory has been sustained rather than one-off, inclusion is built into how participants are selected, and a genuinely new cross-border initiative is already showing reach. Each has direct relevance for schools, training providers and higher education institutions weighing where to invest limited strategic attention.

The growth trajectory is the clearest signal. Tripling funding and more than tripling project numbers across five consecutive years, inside a programme cycle that runs to 2027, suggests this channel is maturing rather than peaking. Mobility projects, the single most accessible entry point for a school or training provider, made up the large majority of 2025's contracted activity, meaning the door remains widest open for organisations that have not yet engaged.

Inclusion is the second notable strand. Of roughly 15,000 forecasted participants in Erasmus+ and the European Solidarity Corps in 2025, nearly half were people with fewer opportunities, spanning migrants, people with disabilities, and those facing socioeconomic or geographic barriers. That is a meaningful commitment embedded directly into programme design, not an add-on, and it strengthens the case for student success arguments when institutions seek internal buy-in for participation.

The third strand is newer. PEACEPLUS-ASPIRE, a cross-border education innovation launched in 2025, reached over 482 school and pre-school settings in its first year alone, engaging children and young people across Northern Ireland and the border counties from diverse cultural, religious and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Three actions follow now for education sector leaders in Ireland. First, schools and training providers not yet participating should apply now while mobility projects remain the dominant, most accessible category of funding. Second, higher education leaders should engage specifically through the Higher Education Authority's dedicated Erasmus+ agency, since university and college mobility is managed separately from Léargas's remit. Third, institutions should fold international mobility into multi-year strategic planning now, given the sector is already preparing for the successor programme cycle beginning in 2028.

The growth Léargas describes is a genuine opportunity sitting in plain sight for Irish education. Leaders across schools, training providers and higher education institutions have a funded, scaling channel for international exchange, and building it into educational leadership planning now positions institutions well ahead of the next programme cycle.