Seán Canney (Galway East, Independent)
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I listened to the contributions and thank the witnesses for their clear and concise replies. Following the comment made about universal design, we are at a fairly early stage in assistive technology systems and appliances we can put in place. Now is the time to get standards and universal design right in order that we put in place technologies that can be used internationally or globally, and ensure we in the digital world we are in can capture that so that people with disabilities across the world can have safe access to appliances as they need them.

The questions I have are on training, making sure users are trained on how to use appliances or technology, if there is maintenance to be done with them, and how the cost of this will be met. Because we are still in the throes of rolling out national broadband to every house, there is a disparity with some technologies as to what can be used in home settings for people. We have an opportunity to make sure we get this right. We do not have universal design of homes right for people with disabilities because we started back building houses before we thought about people and how we would deal with people with disabilities and make their houses more adaptable. We have an opportunity here.

The other concern I have is that, with speech and language therapists, we have a huge gap in professionals within the system to help us to make these changes. While we see how Charlie Bird has used assistive technology so well, and it is an example of how people can remain connected with us and communicate with us if we can do it for them, we have a huge amount of work to do in this regard, however. Would the witnesses consider that the Minister of State with responsibility for disability at the Department of Health, Deputy Rabbitte, should look at setting up a unit within the Department to drive assistive learning technology so that we are doing it in a right and wholesome way and not just doing it haphazardly, and we are putting in place the necessary constraints so that people are not being sold something that will be of no use to them down the line?