Christopher O'Sullivan (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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524. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if consideration will be given to funding for third-level education providers for the provision of courses aimed at students with intellectual disabilities, for example, the contemporary living course in UCC is no longer on the 2021-2022 prospectus due to lack of available funding; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [43950/21]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Inclusion is one of the core strategic goals for my Department, and my ambition is to ensure that we provide supports and opportunities for learning to all. This means recognising the needs of vulnerable learners, the most marginalised and those with special and additional needs, and assisting people in accessing and progressing through higher and further education and training.

There are some excellent models of provision in both further and higher education. I want to see options expanded across the third level system based upon best practice to provide learning pathways for people with intellectual disabilities to achieve their educational and training goals. My officials have been working on this and I intend to host a roundtable in due course.

The Deputy will be aware that provision for learners with intellectual disabilities is a complex policy area involving many key stakeholders in areas such as: education; health; equality and choice; employment; and transport. I have been clear with Ministerial colleagues that I want to work in a coherent way with their Departments and agencies to deliver on the ambitions of the National Disability Inclusion Strategy and to ensure that the tertiary education system is playing a full role in supporting and building relevant education and training offerings which support learners with intellectual disabilities to develop to their full potential. I also see my Department’s role in co-ordinating the European Social Fund as a critical way to support initiatives in this area across the wider Government system.