Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I will absolutely take that on board. I present the issue as two separate and distinct but very much interdependent parts, as does her question, in fairness. There is the capital piece, on which I expect we will make further progress through both the existing fund we have in place for students with disabilities and the drawdown of that fund to provide facilities such as sensory rooms that are beginning to roll out. In addition, our capital calls, which can be expected later this week, will involve a focus in the criteria on inclusion, universal design and the likes that will mean that projects coming forward will begin to rectify this.

The second part of the Deputy's question is even more interesting, perhaps, because alongside the bricks and mortar, it is about things like teaching methods. Many students in general, but particularly students with disabilities, have told me they would like things that became commonplace during the pandemic, such as recorded lectures, to become embedded. Obviously, that requires discussion with staff representative bodies but we want it to happen. I refer to initiatives such as the wayfinding app, where people have been able to use assistive technology. It is very much about the bricks and mortar alongside the use of technology and the teaching methods. We are committed to funding and progressing both but also, crucially, trying to measure in our new plan disabilities that have not been measured in previous national access plans.

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