Niall Collins (Limerick County, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is to allow the providers to provide the training centres. It is not just in retrofitting, although retrofitting courses will be part of it. In the ETB sector in particular, a lot of work has been going on in the background as the ETBs get ready for this. We have the nearly zero energy building, NZEB, centre in Wexford which is in the Chairman's constituency. We have provided funding of €75 million to provide for more than 35,000 learners to avail of green skills modules. They are the shorter type of courses. There are 2,650 additional places in retrofit and NZEB. This did not commence with yesterday's announcement; a great deal of preparatory work has gone into it.

The Deputy asked about access. The Department works with the agencies that provide these services and supports. We are happy to look into any specific queries the Deputy wishes to raise. In particular, we have a national plan for equity of access to higher education. Over the past four years, since the commencement of the plan, 193 students with disabilities have been awarded bursaries. The funding for the national plan for equity of access to higher education for 2022 is €5 million.