Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

There are ten minutes left before we finish. I have a few comments. Deputy Ó Murchú raised the issue of AAC. I know that the Minister of State, Deputy Rabbitte, allocated €1 million to provide devices, but it is not enough to ensure that every child will have a device that is capable of supporting them, particularly those who are non-verbal or minimally verbal. That is the world we live in now. There is a company based in Northern Ireland that won the EY award for developing assistive technology. It is something that every child should automatically be given once they come into the school system. They should be given an iPad with that technology or an app on it that is developed or supported by the State to give them that opportunity to communicate.

A bugbear of mine is the word "unit". I do not like the word and I would love to see it removed from all terminology and Departments. One even sees it written on the screen during questions or Topical Issue matters in Leinster House, with reference to the "provision of a unit" in such and such a location. They are classrooms. We use the word in daily life, because the terminology is there. Could we look at removing the word from websites, paperwork, etc.?