Catherine Ardagh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank Fiacre and Carmel for coming in. I saw Fiacre's RTÉ documentary, which was just amazing. He is an amazing advocate for non-verbal children. He has no idea how much hope he gives families and children. He must be commended on his bravery. He has his mother to thank. It is always down to his mother pushing things and finding a solution to unlock his voice. I say well done to Carmel and encourage her to keep doing what she is doing.

As a committee, we would certainly like to take on her recommendation to ask the Department to have a pilot study like the one she suggested. Much of the time, it depends on the principals in the schools and how open they are to trying new technologies. There is a big education piece to be done with the teaching population and especially with teachers in autism and early intervention classes. That is part of where we want to go with it as a committee. We are trying to promote the conversation and show the benefits of unlocking someone's voice. Fiacre is a great example of that. I thank him again for coming in today. I know it is hard. Coming into the Oireachtas can be quite daunting, but we need to hear his voice. That is really important for everyone.