Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I could not agree more with the Minister. The point he made about regression is especially appropriate. I recall one graduates from the Trinity Centre for People with Intellectual Disabilities who did not have a job to go to and went back to a day care facility. By the time of her graduation, she did not have the confidence to stand up from her seat to go to get her certificate. That is the scale of regression. We need to work with Irish business which has been so responsive to this. It is inclusive for everybody working in business to see somebody with intellectual disabilities on the reception desk, at the forefront, working in HR and in meaningful, real jobs that are part of the organisation, instead of regressing. This is about empowering those people who choose to go to university. The Trinity Centre for People with Intellectual Disabilities is an especially strong model; it is a gold star. As the Minister said, the challenge is to extend that all other universities and make that accessible, irrespective of what part of the country one is in. These are viable options and parents of young people with intellectual disabilities should not be frightened of that day when they cease to have the learning sports around them that help them continue to progress. I thank the Minister for his work.

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