Micheál Carrigy (Fine Gael)
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Mr. Hession says there are "pockets of activity". We need it to be consistent across all colleges. If a scheme could be developed in conjunction with the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, whereby every college could apply to this fund and that funding would be made available to every college to employ a person that would support such a project, that would be positive.

Deputy Ó Cathasaigh referred to the figures. I do not know the key performance indicators, KPIs, with regard to the employability project. If the numbers being employed are not high, then we need to adjust the programme to make sure that increased numbers from the programme are being employed.

Deputy Tully brought up the assessment of needs and the additional needs payment. I know significant extra funding was put into it by the Minister in 2022 and was paid out. If people need assessments of need, they should be able to access that payment for financial help. Talking to people, many parents who cannot get an assessment are not in a good financial situation. We have even heard that some schools are subventing a certain percentage of funding because they are only allowed to put forward one or two students every year. As I say, that fund can be used for heating and adaptation of the houses, but it cannot be used in a situation where a family needs to get that assessment for their child. To me, it is a higher priority than some other things. It should be looked at. I know the Department cannot just open it out but maybe if there was a recommendation from the school that went in with the application, it could be looked at and there could be some help for parents to be able to get an assessment of needs.

I know the carer's allowance is means-tested. There is a financial cut-off point there. We have spoken to families. I know of one family I have met myself in which two children have had assessments and have been diagnosed as being on the spectrum. One parent has to leave work and another parent has to travel up and down to Dublin every day to work to be able to fund the roughly €28,000 per year of extra costs for that family. That is the figure that came from Atlantic Technological University. I do not know what the figures from the Indecon report but €28,000 is the figure from Dr. Roddy's project, for when everything is taken into account, which she gave to the committee. Is there a process to have an exceptional review for a family where circumstances like that are taken into account and there is not just a straight disregard where incomes go above a certain line? Is there a process where a family can make a personal appeal based on the circumstances of the carers?