Dr. Carolann Bargary:

I will add to that. We know we can do so much more in higher education but we just do not have the resources. For example, at pre-entry level, we would love to be out in the community working with schools, showing pathways to students, and showing the resources and supports at that pre-entry age through secondary school. It is about showing what is available to those students if they want to come to higher education but the current resourcing and structures do not allow for that. It is again about joined-up thinking.

We see this a lot from an access perspective. I have been in access for quite a long time. Dr. O'Connell spoke about our growth in numbers, which I have seen over the years and that we are very proud of. When I started more than 20 years ago, we had very few students knocking on the door to advise us they had autism. Now we see the growth in numbers but the resources have not matched that. Making the person feel wanted and included was mentioned. We see that time is crucial for the one-to-one support that can be available in higher education if the resources are there. It is about the time given to the student to succeed right across the life cycle. It is about giving the person time.

There is an awful lot more we can do but we are very constrained in the work we can do. It has worked in other areas of access in Ireland. If we look at the growth in numbers, for example, in the national access plan and the growth in other areas in this country, and the number of students now moving from DEIS schools to higher education, a model is there that can work. Programme for access to higher education, PATH, 3 funding, for example, is working very well. It is an example of how strategic, tailored funding and supporting students from marginalised and under-represented groups is now being used to support those students to transition to higher education. More of that joined-up thinking Dr. O'Connell mentioned is crucial at this point. We are looking for supports so that we can support students because, at the end of the day, the student who enters our doors is the student who determines the need. We can only respond to that need if the resources are in place.