Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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412. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide funding for a person (details supplied), who is deaf and who cannot participate in a certain course without the assistance of an interpreter; and the methods by which the person can obtain funding for an interpreter. [35811/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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My Department allocates significant resources to ensure that students can participate fully in their academic courses and are not disadvantaged by reason of a disability. The Fund for Students with Disabilities (FSD) is managed by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) on behalf of my department and provides funding to students in approved colleges of further and higher education for the delivery of key services, reasonable accommodations and supports for learners with disabilities on full-time, approved courses in eligible further and higher education institutions. While the remit of the Fund does not extend to the college in which the student in question is participating, there is a wider national framework of policies and legislation under the Equal Status Act 2000-2011, which prohibits every educational establishment, be this public or private, from discriminating against any person seeking to access a courses or facilities on the grounds of disability.