Ulick Burke (Fine Gael)

I move amendment No. 1:

In page 5, subsection (2), line 24, after "provisions" to insert the following:

", but all sections shall come into operation within 12 months of its passing into law".

I welcome the Minister to the House. I hope she will consider this amendment on the basis of the discussion on a particular case yesterday in regard to people with disabilities.

I welcome the fact that, in the Minister's absence yesterday, people with disabilities were included in the amendment in the Dáil. They had originally been omitted from inclusion in the legislation. The Minister will recall that on Second Stage, I highlighted the existence of a very irregular response to the needs of people with disabilities in institutes of technology throughout the country. Some of them have a reasonably good record in respect of the percentage of people with disabilities among their student population, while others do not. It was a response to the absence of financial resources to provide the facilities to students with disabilities.

Now that this has been included, I hope that there will be a commitment in the legislation to regularise and streamline this matter within at least 12 months. Some institutions may have to do some catching up compared to others but this is the primary reason behind this amendment.