Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris has confirmed a survey will be carried out into harassment, sexual harassment and bullying in third level institutions.
The research will include both staff and students and is aimed at creating a 'zero tolerance' culture towards harassment within the education sector.
The announcement follows a letter sent by Minister Harris to the presidents of the country's universities outlining institutional action plans on tackling sexual violence and harassment.
Speaking today, Mr Harris said: "These action plans will involve the implementation of systems that record the number of incidents of bullying, intimidation or harassment including sexual harassment.
“HEIs (Higher Education Institutes) will be required to report statistics annually to the HEA, once the action plans of each institution are in place.
“A substantial barrier to tackling these issues has been the lack of data indicating the extent of the problem. The recording of incidents by HEIs has been inconsistent."
Mr Harris added the survey will commence in the new year, underlining the importance of hearing directly for staff and students on the matter.
