Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with all of that, and join with the Deputy in commending the University of Galway on all of the good work it is doing. I have had the opportunity to meet them on a few occasions specifically on the subject of Traveller participation. What I like about what they do is that it is not just about just getting somebody in the door. It is about getting somebody out the other side, through the education process and into the world of work. I think we are doing a reasonable amount, quite a lot in many ways, at third level with bursaries and incentivisation and having this as a priority area in the national access plan. We are reporting against it through the HEA. We are up for doing more and want to do more. We also have to be honest, however. The Deputy mentioned secondary schools. A lot of the barriers and blockages are encountered long before second and third level education. There needs to be a joined-up approach to all of the different blockages and barriers somebody may experience throughout their life. That is why I am working closely with my colleague, the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, and his Department on the successor to the national Traveller and Roma inclusion strategy. It is a way to look at things in the round, and how we remove any block or barrier at any stage of the education journey for our students, in this case in particular for members of the Traveller community.

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