Ms Anne Marie McDonnell:

Yes, Deputy, on remote working I believe it presents wonderful opportunities to increase the employment rate of people with disabilities, in particular when we hear about challenges around transportation. That is definitely one way in which it can be overcome. The other argument we find with some of our students who are interested in remote working is broadband coverage or lack of it in their homes to be able to take up some of the opportunities. One issue with remote working that we recently looked at is the e-sports and gaming industry in Ireland which is growing quickly. Many young people we meet are gaming. Many of us had some unconscious biases around gaming before we realised it actually presents very real employment opportunities.

We are working with a wonderful partner, Epic Global, which is showing us the way, and we have met students who are on their way to being broadcasters working in media. "Shoutcaster" is the proper word. From my time at the front line instructing and managing, I had ideas about the social aspect of work but one of our students made me aware that my thoughts were a little outdated. Students explained to me that much of their community and social activity is online and that the virtual gaming community, in which they would like to work eventually, is real. We need to harness this because there are genuine opportunities for inclusion and accessibility in this space.