Michael Moynihan (Cork North West, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank members for their contributions. Each week people come before us whose officials are predominantly people who have disabilities or they are advocacy groups. They talk about a pathway to engage fully with society. We have seen the challenges in primary and post-primary and on into adult life. Many voluntary groups and schemes that members talk about have developed right throughout the country. In regard to the Minister's last point on plugging them into the system, there are the HEAR and DARE programmes for higher education and other initiatives along the way but joined-up thinking would help. I visited Kerry social farming recently which has a hugely innovative approach to rolling out the idea of social farming. There is room within the Minister's Department given that the title of it is Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science which gives the impression that we are dealing with research and development. However you could apply innovation to every single level. Senator O'Loughlin just spoke about day services. They have been so good for so many but it is time to really look at how we can develop that further. On the social farming model there were courses on FETAC. Is there a possibility to offer some kind of course within the ETBs and the regional educational hubs that now exist to people attending day services? That might be something that could be looked at. In his contribution this morning the Minister has a clear understanding about where he would like society to go in terms of people with disabilities. It is important that his Department makes sure the most vulnerable people get the best chance they possibly can in life and that the various schemes and initiatives that have been developed, sometimes on a voluntary basis, are plugged into the system. We will continue to engage with the Minister in that regard.

I have only one question in terms of the policies his Department is looking at. Is there a student with disabilities voice coming through to the Department and the policymakers? Student unions have people who are very articulate and well capable but are there students who have an intellectual or physical disability having a direct access to policy in order to disability-proof the policy? That is what we in this committee were set up to do under the UNCRPD, to disability-proof it. I would like to see that within the Department.