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

I will get the permission of the student concerned and pass on the details of the case on to the Minister.

I wish to raise another issue. Sometimes the contracts concluded between colleges or further education institutions, the provider of the PA service, and perhaps the insurance company, stipulate that the students are precluded from leaving campus during contracted hours. That is quite restrictive. For example, if a student wants to go for a coffee with friends, they are told that they cannot leave campus during contracted hours. I have heard that from the head of an institution, who highlighted the issue to me. Perhaps that is something the Minister can look at. I am also aware that the HSE has very strict rules around PA hours for non-academic PAs. I know that the issue is not entirely within the Minister's remit. The non-academic PA hours are linked to the relevant student's home county, when students often study outside their own home county. It is another issue that affects disabled students. For disabled students to be able to attend college, they need to have their PA for both non-academic and academic purposes.

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