Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister and his team for appearing before the committee today. Despite guarantees to access for education and employment in both the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, CRPD, and national law, we know that people with disabilities are consistently under-represented in both. Approximately one third of disabled people have left education before they intended because of their disability. The Higher Education Authority, HEA, notes that despite progress made in recent years, the higher education system is still not as inclusive as it wants it to be and that some prospective students simply do not see themselves as belonging in third-level education. There are complex systematic and historical obstacles we need to consider. Ireland also has the lowest employment rate of persons with disabilities in the EU at 32.3%. Further and higher education is crucial in addressing this and must play a key part in helping people progress in education and then go on to gain meaningful employment.

When the Union of Students in Ireland, USI, appeared before this committee earlier in the year, it highlighted the financial barriers faced by students and prospective students with disabilities. In addition, we know the cost of disability is up to more than €12,000 extra annually according to The Cost of Disability in Ireland report. The reality is that the cost remains a significant barrier for participation. As we come up to the budget, apart from the SUSI measures, what targeted supports will the Minister be proposing or pushing for current or prospective students with disabilities?

We spoke about the financial barrier created by the rigidity of the system in terms of part-time courses, which the Minister mentioned. Part-time courses suit so many people better. The Association for Higher Education Access and Disability, for example, identified an increase of 21% in the number of students with disabilities studying part-time in higher education. So much of the funding is still dependent on being full-time, however. The Minister mentioned that he has hopes to change that.

Apart from the ambition to do it, where is it at? When will it be changed? What has been done so far? What will be done?

A key barrier for children and young people with disabilities is accessing primary and secondary education. It has become clear that there is a lack of planning in regard to that. We know how many children there are with additional needs in primary school, but there has been no foresight whatsoever in terms of providing places in secondary school. There is a significant lack of places at second level in ASD as a result of that. What planning is the Department doing on that to ensure there are enough places for people progressing? Is it doing that kind of modelling?

The Minister referenced different figures for apprenticeships. Did they refer to further and higher education training courses? We could not get an exact figure on that. Where did the figure come from?

The committee previously heard about the progress made by universities, including technological universities, in supporting students with disabilities. We know smaller further education colleges do not have the same capacity. Can the Minister outline what targeted supports and additional staff could, or will, be put into such organisations? They are often more locally based. Deputy Tully mentioned the fact that many people cannot live near a university. Smaller institutions are often more locally based for people who cannot live away from home without access to a full-time PA.