Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour)
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249. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the current number of Youthreach centres in Tipperary; and the number of students attending Youthreach centres within Tipperary. [51323/23]

Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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250. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills in line with recommendation 56 of the Autism Committee’s recent report (details supplied), what would be the first-year and full-year cost of establishing a scholarship scheme to fund students in third-level courses in disciplines relevant to disability services with a commitment from graduates to work in Ireland for a set number of years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51542/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The cost of any scholarship scheme would depend on the parameters of such a scheme primarily the level of funding and the number of students supported.

The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science is working closely with the Department of Health and Department of Children, Equality, Diversity, Integration and Youth to increase the number of places across a range of health and social care disciplines. In July 2022 an agreement was reached with the medical schools which will see the phased introduction of a further 200 places for EU students. As of September 2023, 120 of these places have been introduced. 2022 and 2023 saw permanent expansion in the number of nursing places with 135 nursing places in 2022 and a further 255 places in 2023. There has also been expansion in the allied health professions. In 2023, 147 places were added across a range of prioritised allied health disciplines including Speech & Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Clinical Measurement Science. This was on top of 126 places in 2022.

Any scheme including commitments for graduates to work with the HSE would be a matter for the Department of Health.

Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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251. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills in line with recommendation 58 of the Autism Committee’s recent report (details supplied), what would be the capital cost of compiling sensory maps to provide to all Higher Education Institutions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51543/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The potential cost of procurement of sensory maps is not held by my Department and is likely to vary depending on institutions.

I fully support Universal Design Principals. It is an ambition of our National Access Plan that our Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are inclusive, universally designed environment which support and foster student success and outcomes, equity and diversity, and are responsible to the needs of students and wider communities.

To advance this ambition €3m was provided last year to improve Universal Design across HEIs. A significant number of projects are ongoing in this respect which will benefit all students including Students with Autism. Examples of the projects include training for staff, projects to improve accessibility, accessibility audits, toolkits including digital and physical wayfinding and sensory/quiet spaces.

In addition to this my Department has provided €40 million in capital funding for college campuses across the country for this year. The funding is provided through the Devolved Grant system and will allow universities make a number of important changes across their campuses. Categories of funding to be covered by the grant include universal access-related upgrades.

My Department’s new buildings are designed in line with Universal Design principles, which aim to provide all individuals with equal opportunities to learn without the need for adaptations.

Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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252. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills in line with recommendation 59 of the Autism Committee’s recent report (details supplied), what would be the cost of funding the rollout of the Trinity Centre for People with Intellectual Disabilities across all Higher Education Institutions; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51544/23]

Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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253. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills in line with recommendation 60 of the Autism Committee’s recent report (details supplied), what would be the first-and full-year cost of including an autism training module, as part of the following courses in tabular form, Initial Teacher Education (ITE), Nursing, Therapy and all other medical courses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51545/23]

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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The content of higher education programmes is a matter for each higher education institution, and any relevant professional regulatory body. The Teaching Council accredits Initial Teacher Education programmes for the teaching profession, the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland accredits Nursing programmes, and CORU accredits programmes across a range of health and social care disciplines.

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are autonomous within the meaning of the Universities Act 1997 and the Technological Universities Act 2018. As autonomous bodies with academic and administrative freedom, each institution is responsible for its own policy and programme development, including in relation to any potential autism training modules.

The Department distributes recurrent funding to the HEA for disbursement directly to the HEA's designated higher education institutions. The HEA distributes this funding as a block grant to the institutions. As autonomous bodies, use of this funding, including in relation to particular components of programmes, falls to the individual institution. Neither I nor the Department have a role in the development of such policies.

As such, it is not possible to provide costing figures.