Marc Ó Cathasaigh (Waterford, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

The first question that leaps out to me is whether we want it. Do we want North-South mobility because looking at the numbers, I was surprised by how few students are travelling in either direction? It seems that on an individual student basis, you have to really want it because it is difficult. You would have to have your heart set on it. This was back when God was a boy but I remember looking at the UCAS application and it was in a different language. It was a different set-up. It was a barrier and I decided not to but to stick with the CAO and I would be fine. As two jurisdictions, we must ask ourselves whether we want this because if we do, then a lot of the solutions you are putting out there are low-cost, high-impact, 100% common-sense solutions such as having a single place where guidance teachers can go where all the information they need is there and publicising the deadlines. There will be friction because you are dealing with two different education systems. That is more difficult to resolve but certainly, if we are serious about this then simple things like the provision of basic information are things we should be doing and there should be no impediment to them.

Another thing that leapt out to me from the page in Mr. O'Mahony's submission concerned diagnosable learning difficulties. Having served on the autism committee and having looked at the barriers for entry into third level, even leaving aside any change between jurisdictions, it is difficult if you have an autism diagnosis to access a place in third level that will be suitable to your needs. The other thing we learned on that committee is that getting an autism diagnosis if you are under 18 is extremely difficult but getting an autism diagnosis publically if you are an adult is impossible. If you pay to go private that is another thing but that is an additional cost. It is an additional layer of stress. This is not something I had known about and it is something that jumped straight out to me. Could Mr. O'Mahony describe in more detail just how significant a barrier that will be for a student from the North who is looking to study in the Republic or vice versa?