Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 28 March 2023

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Autism

Autism Policy: Discussion (Resumed)

Ms Julie Tonge:

Yes, there is the fund for students with disability which comes from the Higher Education Authority, HEA. I mentioned earlier that we have two full-time occupational therapists working in UCD. We finance those supports through that fund, which is essential. As UCD is a large university that is well resourced and has a lot of students, our funding is much larger than that of smaller colleges. The smaller colleges in Ireland cannot afford occupational therapists.