2026-01-29

96. Deputy Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the work being undertaken by his Department to secure pathways to further and higher education for people with disabilities; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [5970/26]

I thank Teachta Ní Raghallaigh. Supporting students with disabilities is a key strategic priority for me, for my Department and for the Government. Indeed, we have a Cabinet subcommittee on disability which I sit on. My Department has taken on a number of actions through that because it is something we are determined to address across all of Government. The National Access Plan identifies students with disabilities as a priority target group for subvention and supports. I spoke to the Deputy's colleague, Deputy Mark Ward, and others in the House about targeting supports. It is important that we target resources at those most in need. That is a fundamental principle we should adhere to. The most recent figures show that new entrants into higher education with a disability have increased from 12.4% to 14.7%, so we are getting more participation in higher education from students with disabilities. That is really positive. We have a target of 16% which I think we will surpass. That is very good news but we need to continue to do that and to continue to explore the ways we can support such students. One of the ways we can do that is through a flexible and agile system with many different pathways for learners to take as they navigate the further and higher education systems. One of the vehicles for supporting that is the fund for students with disabilities. That is a critical fund and in the recent budget, I was pleased to increase that by €3 million across both further and higher education. That will make a significant difference to over 22,000 students with disabilities for targeted supports they can avail of in the further education and higher education spheres. We are also looking at things like the universal design which asks how we develop buildings with everything from sensory needs to textures to colours to navigation of spaces. That whole area of universal design for learning approach is critical and under the programme for access to higher education, I have provided €5.8 million to improve universal design across higher education institutions and to further educational institutions. It should not just be the colleges that get it; it should be across the board in every centre.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as ucht an cheist seo a fhreagairt. I thank the Minister for outlining the work being carried out by himself and his officials. I will specifically turn to PATH 4 funding. I wholeheartedly support the advancements made in relation to universal design the Minister has been speaking about for learning in phase 1 and the course offerings provided for people with intellectual disabilities in 11 HEIs across the State under phase 2. I have had engagement with Trinity College, in particular, and I have been learning about the immense benefits of its programme in terms of empowerment, agency and work readiness. The programme for people with intellectual disability is state of the art. It is a world leader in the design of inclusive education and is ambitious in what it envisages for its students. I look forward to reading the review of PATH 4 when it comes out and I hope to see funding for the programme mainstreamed in the next few years. However, in the meantime, there is a lot of uncertainty. Phase 2 funding is coming to an end this year and, as it stands, planning for the academic year 2026-2027 is at a standstill. Students do not know if enrolments will continue. Staff do not know if they will have jobs in September. Some colleges will not have an entire cohort through the programme by the time funding is due to expire.

The PATH 4 programme is a wonderful programme. It is a programme I am very passionate about. I am glad to hear the Deputy visited the Trinity Centre for Intellectual Disabilities. I have also been there. I met with the students, the learners and the educators. I have also been to the Field of Dreams in Bishopstown in County Cork and a lot of other centres, including in my own area of Naas and Sallins. The project there is for people with disabilities participating in education. They are all wonderful centres, and it is really great to see them doing so well. We have, under PATH 4, a target of 160 students to participate. We actually have 193 students participating through PATH 4 in higher education institutions. That programme is currently spread across 11 different HEIs with a budget of €11 million. There is good regional spread. It was done on a competitive call basis with an expert independent panel to assign the funding. That has proven very successful. The model has to be responsive. I take on board the Deputy's points about mainstreaming the funding. Our colleague, Deputy Ó Cearúil, raised that earlier as did others. It is something I am very mindful of. When I came into office I increased the funding by €5.8 million for a further two years, which was this year and last year. I will return to that very soon. I aspire to put that on a more sustainable, long-term basis.

I believe the goal in this sector in the medium term, alongside mainstreaming courses for students with intellectual disabilities in our colleges and third level institutions, must consider a national centre to co-ordinate those courses and ensure standards across them. We should be looking at introducing a separate stream of funding to pilot a programme for neurodivergent learners, learners with complex needs and learners with rare diseases based on the same model. As all-Ireland education has come up already in this debate, it relates to the potential to expand this model to the North. I see the real potential here to export a world-class model and make a 32-county initiative of this. Strandmillis University College has produced a feasibility study and there is plenty of scope and interest. At the moment, there are 11 courses open to learners in the Twenty-six Counties but there is none available across the Border. I have spoken with my colleague in the Six Counties, Caoimhe Archibald, and she is enthusiastic about this project, and I am sure she would be interested in collaborating with the Minister's Department on this issue. Dundalk IT and Strandmillis University College fall under the same governance structure, which should facilitate this. I encourage the Minister to consider extending PATH 4 funding to support this initiative through DkIT.

Absolutely. The PATH 4 initiative is something I am very committed to and intend to mainstream. Certainly, I will be revisiting that in the coming weeks. I intend to speak to Cabinet colleagues on that and t o look to roll that out on a more permanent basis. The Deputy makes an interesting point about the opportunity to have wider participation for students with complex needs. That is a good point and something I will take on board. We have a thing called the disability demonstration project at the moment, which is an exercise supported by academic research and a dedicated researcher to look at what interventions are appropriate at different levels and how we can broaden that. The Deputy mentioned Minister Archibald. I meet regularly with her and we have a very good working relationship. There is a number of items on our agenda which are shared. Just before Christmas in Farmleigh we announced all-island apprenticeships and the accounting technicians' body is on an all-Ireland basis. We talked about the Queen's University Belfast and DkIT consolidation. That is something I am really excited about, namely that all-island university potential that is coming to bear there and the disability supports and what we can do on an all-island basis. It is certainly something I would be very happy to support and explore with Minister Archibald. I do meet with her regularly in the North South Ministerial Council and in bilaterals. I have visited both Magee Campus in Derry and Queen's University in Belfast on a number of occasions since my appointment as well.