Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is for this reason that we have changed our approach to student accommodation. In Deputy Durkan's constituency, for example, the town of Maynooth is one of the first beneficiaries of the new Government approach to student accommodation. We are investing taxpayer's money, along with university funding, to make accommodation projects viable. The student accommodation project in Maynooth to which I refer will go to construction this year and will make a real and meaningful difference.

I am very satisfied that higher education participation rates are among the best in the world. They are certainly among the best in Europe, but they are not equal across all sectors of society. We should not fool ourselves in that regard. We have made progress in terms of participation rates in DEIS schools but not as much progress as we have made in other schools.

We cannot be complacent. We still see a cliff edge when it comes to progress from second level to third level for far too many people with a disability. That is why we developed whole new courses in Irish universities for people with intellectual disabilities, beginning next September. We are also trying to bring our education into the regions, moving beyond this idea that all roads must lead to a big city to access a university degree. The creation of the technological universities has very much been the driving force behind that policy.

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