Patrick O'Donovan (Limerick County, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have no problem at all in doing so. In the context of the discussion on personal assistants, we are in the same place now as our predecessors were 20 years ago in their discussions about special needs assistants in the primary sector. It is a natural and good progression. It is a good progression because many of the people we are talking about have come through extremely challenging situations in order to get to the place they are in. We will have to put a pathway in place over a period to see how we can make sure that the supports are appropriate, that personal assistants are properly trained, qualified and well looked after and that the educational and personal needs of learners can be met in collaboration with the education system. This is a relatively new space for us, but I do not think there is any lack of ambition in the Department to get stuck into this.

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