Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister. The case I am asking about is that of a young man with quite complex disability who has identified a course he is interested in doing. The college has been very accommodating in meeting him and making sure it is accessible. The Minister has mentioned part-time courses and I believe he will be allowed to take longer to do the course. This is something that should be considered with regard to disabled people and people who suffer from chronic pain. It is something that has been raised with me. The person in this case is being allocated a personal assistant but when it comes to toileting he requires two people. This seems to be where the problem arises. Apparently the college has been told it is not allowed to allocate a second person. This is the information that is coming from him. I can seek further information or I can ask whether I can pass on his details to the Minister to look at the matter. It is coming to the stage where he is asking whether he will take up the course. Without the assistance of two people when using the bathroom he will not be able to attend and participate in the course. The college is building an accessible toilet for him.

Many of the disabled bathrooms in our public buildings are not large enough for the bigger motorised wheelchairs.

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