Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy Ó for his question but, more importantly, for genuinely engaging constructively with me on this over a sustained period. I have found his engagement to be insightful and very useful to my Department. As he will be well aware, a number of education and training boards, ETBs, have employed personal assistants to provide supports to learners under the fund for students with disabilities. I have been in a number of these ETBs and colleges, including DIFE, with the Deputy, and my officials have engaged with a variety of stakeholders on the issue, including SOLAS, the trade union FÓRSA, and Education and Training Boards Ireland, ETBI, the representative body for the ETBs. Indeed, Deputy Ó Murchú and I had a meeting with a number of personal assistants, which he very kindly convened and which I felt was useful. He knows my position on this. In budget 2024, I secured an additional €2 million for the fund for students with disabilities and was very clear, on receipt of this, that I wanted my officials to examine the position of personal assistants across the tertiary system, how we can support them in the interim and what further steps can be taken. I have engaged with my officials consistently on this and the work is ongoing. I am due to meet the group again, along with the Deputy. We have a date in the diary for him and I to meet the group of personal assistants again shortly and I hope to be in a position to provide an update at that meeting.

I understand that FÓRSA has lodged a formal claim for improvements to the terms and conditions of personal assistants with ETBI. I believe that was lodged in November. Under the Education and Training Board Act 2013, the terms and conditions of service of a member of staff of an ETB are such as may be determined by the board with the necessary ministerial consent. I understand that a response to this claim will issue shortly and my Department is being kept apprised of developments. I have asked my officials to engage constructively, as appropriate, on this matter with a view to securing progress. We discussed adult education tutors earlier and the need for regularisation and a contract. I know that there are a number of parties to this, of which I am only one, but I believe in trying to get to a point where we can bottom out exactly the contract terms and conditions of personal assistants because this would be hugely beneficial to our education system and to the people working in that area.

Regarding to the development of a disability framework for further education and training, my officials are currently gathering information on the range of disability supports and services across the sector. This will inform a detailed piece of policy work around where we need to go.

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