Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am getting the trickiest questions at the end. I thank Senator Flynn for her work and how it relates to my Department. I assure her there is an open door policy in my Department in respect of her work. We want to do whatever we can to learn from the Senator's work on diversity and inclusion. I found her recent address to the Dáil inspiring in regard to these issues and we are eager to work with her. I will answer her questions as best I can, but I would also like to learn from her insights into and understanding of these issues and how we can do more in this regard.

Regarding diversity and inclusion, the Technological Universities Act 2018 - and this is from memory because I do not have a copy in front of me - has specific provision for flexibility regarding the design of courses. There are a number of ways to increase access and inclusion, one of which is often to provide courses in a way that is flexible and can work for learners from a variety of backgrounds. Not everybody can pack their bags and head off to university for four years. The perception that that is what people must do can be a barrier. The Technological Universities Act 2018 requires that a certain number of courses be designed in a flexible manner. How we harness that is part of the answer to this question.

The broader answer, though, is not specific to the technological universities, but is more concerned with the new national access and inclusion plan we are likely to publish in the next month or so. I am pleased to say there is quite a bit of resourcing behind this plan. For example, €5 million is being provided this year, and the presumption is that €5 million will also be provided each year to 2025. In that plan, we will be setting new targets and objectives regarding what success in inclusion and access will look like over the next few years and what we must do to achieve them. I will be delighted to brief Senator Flynn, and the committee at the appropriate time, on that. It will be the vehicle through which we will try to drive this agenda.

On access to digital devices, I am proud that our Department and sector have provided free digital devices where required. This is something we could look at doing more broadly in parts of society. We purchased just under 17,000 laptops as part of our response to Covid-19 and gave them out, effectively, through access offices. One of the reasons I did that was because one of the first meetings I had was with representatives of Pavee Point. I remember meeting a young student at Maynooth University who told me she had to do her college thesis on her smartphone while sitting in the car. That is just unacceptable. She said having the laptop was transformational for her. The broadband issue is a little outside my remit. While there is a strong focus on remote working hubs, I think they should be referred to as remote working and learning hubs because they will help with the broadband issue in the interim as we roll them out to communities.