30.— (1) This section applies to approved institutions operating in the State other than—

(a) those to which, pursuant to section 4 of the Universities Act 1997, that Act applies,

(b) the Dublin Institute of Technology,

F27[(ba) a technological university within the meaning of the Technological Universities Act 2018,]

(c) those to which, pursuant to section 3(1) (as amended by the Institutes of Technology Act 2006) of the Regional Technical Colleges Act 1992, that Act applies.

(2) An approved institution to which this section applies shall, as soon as practicable but no later than 90 days after this section is commenced, and not less than once every 3 years thereafter, require its chief officer to prepare a draft access plan of the policies of the institution in respect of—

(a) access to the institution by economically or socially disadvantaged people, by people who have a disability and by people from sections of society significantly under-represented in the student body, and

(b) equality, including gender equality, in all activities of the institution,

and the chief officer, in preparing the statement, shall have regard to such policies on those matters as may from time to time be determined by the Minister.

(3) The governing authority of an approved institution to which this section applies shall, having regard to the resources available to it, within one month of the preparation of the draft access plan referred to in subsection (2), either approve of it without modification or, following consultation with the chief officer, approve of it with such modifications as it thinks fit.

(4) An approved institution to which this section applies shall implement the policies set out in its access plan as approved under subsection (3).

(5) For the purposes of this section the terms “chief officer” and “governing authority” shall have a meaning as respects an institution to which this section applies that corresponds to the meaning given to those terms under the Universities Act 1997 as respects a university to which that Act applies.