I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Noonan, to the House.
Nithe i dtosach suíonna - Commencement Matters
Public Inquiries
I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Chamber. This is the first Commencement matter I have raised and I will endeavour to deal with it as effectively as I can. I ask the Minister of State to make a statement on the provisions of the Local Government Act 2001 that have not been commenced since the enactment of the legislation and to explain why each of the sections in question have not been commenced. I have a particular interest in the power to hold public inquiries under section 212, which states:
The Minister may cause such public local inquiries to be held as he or she may consider necessary or desirable.
This is followed by several paragraphs setting out the manner in which an inspector appointed by the Minister might carry out an inquiry in a local authority area. My understanding is that there was a preliminary response to this, in that there had been a constitutional referendum on the powers of the Oireachtas to carry out investigations and the people decided this was perhaps a step too far. It has previously been stated that the principle arising from that constitutional referendum was the reason the section was not commenced. Did the Minister receive specific legal advice on this issue? Is it a legally binding opinion or is it a subjective interpretation of the outcome of that referendum?
I tabled this Commencement matter arising from the experiences of a very good friend of mine, Councillor Fiona McLoughlin Healy, who serves on Kildare County Council. I have known Fiona for almost 40 years. She is a person of the utmost integrity and a very high-calibre individual who opted for public service by standing for election to the county council. She was with Fine Gael initially and subsequently has served as an Independent councillor. In her time on the county council, she has raised extremely serious matters relating to the way in which the county council operates with regard to procurement practices and all sorts of other activities carried out at the expense of the taxpayer that are neither transparent nor fair. She has raised serious questions in respect of probity and ethical practice. As a result of raising those issues as a councillor and public representative, she has experienced an incredible and vigorous campaign of reprisal against her on Kildare County Council. That is a matter of grave concern because she is a good citizen who opted for public service and at one point ran for election to Dáil Éireann. She has been left with nowhere to go. Last week, she publicly announced that she will not be seeking re-election. That flows from all of the concerns she raised but, more specifically, the very nature-----
If I may helpfully interrupt the Senator, despite the parliamentary privilege Senators may assume they enjoy, we must be careful about naming names or implying-----
It is not my intention to name names. These matters have been dealt with on the public record in the media and are well rehearsed in the public space.
Yes. I am just helpfully advising the Senator.
The only person I will name in connection with this issue is Fiona McLoughlin Healy. It is her intention not to seek re-election. I was very disappointed to learn of that decision and I was disappointed throughout her experience-----
That is fine. That is a public issue.
Yes. As someone who has personally experienced whistleblower reprisal, I was very disappointed by what she experienced. I was particularly disappointed by those who engaged in it and those who stood by and did nothing to support her. That is why I have raised this Commencement matter. If ask the Minister of State to address the issue of whether there was specific legal advice on the commencement of that section. I thank him for his patience.
I commend Senator Clonan on tabling his first Commencement matter. I am responding on behalf of the Minister of State, Deputy Peter Burke, who sends his apologies. Before I come to the main body of my response, I make the point that it is unfortunate that elected members feel unable to stand for re-election, for whatever reason. I spent 16 years on a local authority. There is no greater service to the community than that provided by elected members of local authorities. They carry out an invaluable role of public service.
I thank the Senator for raising the matter. Part 20 of the Local Government Act 2001, comprising sections 212 to 214, inclusive, sets out provisions relating to the establishment of public local inquiries. None of these provisions has been commenced. Part 20 was intended to replace a number of provisions in local government legislation, a key provision of which is section 83 of the Local Government Act 1941.
This enables the Minister on whom local government functions are conferred to appoint a person to carry out a public local inquiry. Section 212 is closely linked with the other provisions of Parts 20 and 21 of the 2001 Act. This includes section 216 and the ministerial power to remove the elected members of a local authority from office in circumstances where there is a failure by the elected council to duly and effectually perform its statutory functions. The intention of section 212 is that it would only be used in rare and extremely serious circumstances where the removal of democratically elected members from office is being actively considered. The power to remove the elected members of a local authority from office has fortunately only been used on four occasions since 1942. This strongly suggests that the power of public local inquiry and the related power of removing elected members from office were intended to be used only in very exceptional circumstances.
The establishment of public local inquiries would also be a legally complex matter, particularly with regard to how such inquiries would function in practice. Careful consideration would be needed regarding the powers of such inquiries to compel persons to appear before them, how the constitutional rights of such persons could be protected and how they could seek to assert their rights through the courts. The potential costs of public local inquiries would also need very careful consideration as would the question of whether such an option would represent best value for money as a means for addressing the issues of concern.
It is also important to recall that, as the Senator has referred to, a referendum was held in October 2011 on a proposed amendment to the Constitution that, if successful, would have granted full investigative powers to Oireachtas committees to hold full inquiries. This proposal was rejected by the electorate. Concerns raised at the time would also apply in the case of public local inquiries held by local authorities. It would therefore not seem appropriate to try to introduce public inquiries at the level of local government when these were rejected by the people at Oireachtas level.
The other sections of the 2001 Act that have not been commenced are section 22, on the alteration of the number of members of a local authority, and section 223, on the power of the Minister to make regulations to divide local authority areas into electoral divisions. There are no plans at this time to commence Part 20 of the 2001 Act or any other sections that have not been commenced. The priorities in relation to making local government stronger, more accountable and more responsive to the communities it serves are set out in the Programme for Government: Our Shared Future.
I will have to revert to the Senator on the specific question regarding the legal advice the Minister may have sought on the outcome of the referendum and how it impacts on local inquiries.
I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive response. I appreciate his commitment to come back on the question of whether there was specific legal advice. Personally, I found the experience of Councillor Fiona McLoughlin Healy very disappointing and disturbing. Without going into any of the details, which are on the public record, there was a pattern of behaviour designed to personally enrich individuals who were using public office for personal gain. That is a fundamental breach of public trust. The Edelman Trust Barometer, an international survey published every year in Ireland, shows that trust in politicians in Ireland is very low. Only trust in journalists is equally low although trust in journalists is slowly improving. Despite the complications and complex issues set out in the Minister of State's response, we have to find a way to restore the public's faith in politicians. That is not a criticism of local or national politicians. It is just a statement of the fact that it has been recorded that trust is very low here. If we ask ourselves what a jurisdiction looks like-----
The Senator's time is up but I also have to point out again that, while he is not specifically naming people, people in various sections of local government in a small area could be identified, which has legal implications.
I thank the Leas-Chathaoirleach but I have been very careful not to name people or the particular areas in which they work.
That is all right once they cannot be identified at all.
I will finally just ask what a jurisdiction in which there is no trust in politics looks like. It looks like Capitol Hill last year. We need to be very careful.
On that issue of trust in politicians, the vast majority of those of us involved in politics are here for the right reasons. One thing I want the electoral commission to do is to restore that trust and to be involved in engagement with the public to ensure people are aware of what we do. That is critically important.
I outlined a number of good reasons that section 212, which provides for a ministerial power to hold public inquiries, has never been commenced, not least of which is that its intended purpose is a precursor for removing democratically elected members from office, a measure that could only be contemplated in very exceptional circumstances. Other concerns include the potential cost and legal complexities involved and whether there would be public support for such a far-reaching power to potentially suspend local government functions.
Transparency International Ireland carries out a very good survey of local government transparency. It is a very good piece of work, a barometer for local authorities to work by in improving transparency, public accountability and public participation in the democratic process.
I thank the Minister of State and the Senator. Fágfaimid é mar sin. Táimid ag feitheamh ar an Aire, an Teachta O'Gorman.
Equality Issues
I thank the Minister very much for taking my Commencement matter today. Medical and psychological professionals throughout the world have stated that LGBTI people who experience conversion therapy are almost twice as likely to think about or attempt suicide than their peers who have not experienced conversion therapy. Let us be very clear; conversion therapy is based on a particular mindset that denies that people are actually gay. It is a mindset that denies people's sexual and gender identity. I am a proponent of the Lady Gaga "born this way" mentality. How dare anybody tell another person they are not what they say they are? For whatever reason, whether religious or otherwise, people assert a right to actively engage people in conversion therapy. This only purports to be a therapy and is actually quite a violent psychological abuse of an individual associated with shame which leads to the consequent statistics on suicidal ideation among members of the community post conversion therapy. Any treatment aimed at changing a person's sexual orientation or gender identity is a shameful application of something that should not be tolerated in any society and particularly in ours.
I appreciate that there is a commitment in the programme for Government, which the Minister has reiterated, to bring in a legislative ban on conversion therapy. I also appreciate that, on 8 July, the Minister launched a research programme into conversion therapy and the experiences of people coming out of it in Ireland. I am concerned that while we research, people are actively being abused and undermined in who they are. The psychological damage is ongoing. I am anxious that we very quickly move to define conversion therapy. It should be about the objective and we should not micromanage or get into the particular types of therapy, who does it or how it is done. Anything that seeks to undermine the sexual or gender identity of an individual should be banned. It is one thing to seek psychological support in how to live or how to come out to one's family. I appreciate that strain of therapy but that is not what this is.
Conversion therapy has a very definite objective so we must legislate to ban the objective. I suggest that because I am concerned about some programmes. The likes of the international Living Waters programme purport to be about helping people who may have been victims of sexual assault or abuse. The operators of these programmes bring people in under that guise but have other agendas. Once people are in the vulnerable atmosphere of a group counselling session where there is a discussion and perhaps more information revealed but other objectives then come to the fore. We must guard against that objective and make sure that we do not permit that objective to be permissible. Conversion therapy is tantamount to hate speech and the denial of who a person is so we must legislate against it, as a matter of urgency.
Without transgressing the role of the Chair, I thank the Senator for raising this matter.
I thank the Senator for raising this important matter and welcome the opportunity to update the House on progress to ban the practice of so-called conversion therapy.
As we know, Ireland has become a proud, progressive and modern State that cherishes all people equally. We have made great strides in recent decades to promote equality and respond to the needs of a diverse population. We have a strong record as a champion of human rights internationally and have been at the forefront of advancing equality for LGBTI+ people.
Despite these advances challenges remain for members of our LGBTI+ community. We have seen those challenges manifest in the form of attacks on members of that community, physical attacks and attacks online over the course of the last year. This means that members of the LGBTI+ community do not always feel safe in public spaces. They continue to experience unacceptable levels of harassment, violence and discrimination. LGBTI+ people also face particular health issues. Therefore, we, in Government, have more work to do and we are committed to doing so.
I am here to discuss the Government's plans to progress the ban on the abhorrent practice of conversion therapy in Ireland. As members will be aware, the programme for Government contains a commitment to legislate to ban conversion therapy, which is a commitment that the Government takes very seriously. Both the LGBTI+ National Youth Strategy and the LGBTI+ National Inclusion strategy contain commitments around the issue of conversion therapy. Both of these strategies are underpinned by a whole-of-Government approach.
Senator Seery Kearney spoke about how damaging conversion therapy is to people having counselled some of those who have been subjected to this practice. I, too, know about the deep psychological damage done by conversion therapy as I have spoken to two people who have been subjected to these practices. At the time of the conversion therapy one of them was in their late teens while the other person was in their early teens. They can attest to the fact that the experience had a deep and lasting impact on their development and acceptance of being gay.
It is in recognition of the seriousness negative effects of conversion therapy and the different areas in which it manifests that we have acted in a way to develop research in order to find and understand exactly where conversion therapy happen in our country, and in what circumstances so that we can design legislation explicitly to address that. For these reasons, my Department commissioned research aimed at capturing the views and experiences of people who have been subjected to conversion practices in Ireland. It is multi-phased and mixed-methodology research. The research includes a survey that is open to all members of the public, interviews with people who have experienced conversion therapy and an examination of the growing body of international research literature on the issue. The findings from our research will assist the Government to develop legislation to ban conversion therapy. The research is being conducted by an expert team in Trinity College and I expect it to be completed very shortly. We are also examining international jurisdictions in this regard. Earlier this week I met a delegation from Malta and that country was one of the first EU countries to ban conversion therapy.
In recent weeks, officials in my Department have engaged with officials in the Office of the Attorney General to identify the key legal issues that must be addressed in any new legislation. We have research examining the real-life practices of conversion therapy so we understand that and there is ongoing work to identify the key legal issues that any legislation must address. The Government and my Department will continue to progress this and we will look to have legislative proposals in the next number of months. This legislation is a key issue for the Government and myself, as Minister with responsibility for equality issues. I am happy to continue to engage with Members of this House as we go forward in terms of giving updates on where we are going and I hope to soon bring forward legislative provisions.
I thank the Minister for his response.
It would be remiss of me not to commend Senator Warfield on the work that he has done in this area. I also commend my colleague, Luke Corkery, who is a member of LGBT Young Fine Gael and has constantly advocated in this regard.
The UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief is Dr. Ahmed Shaheed. Last year, he said the following to UK MPs that the international rights law is clear that, "the right to freedom of religion or belief does not limit the state's obligation to protect the life, dignity, health and equality of LGBTQ+ persons". He also said: "banning such discredited, ineffective, and unsafe practices that misguidedly try to change or suppress people's sexual orientation and gender is not a violation of the right to freedom of religious or belief under international law". I quote Dr. Shaheed because I agree with him following my experience of talking to people and counselling people over the years who are in the aftermath of these experiences, and it is in that spirit that this occurs.
I imagine that the Minister will hear the argument against legislation by people saying that this is a matter of freedom of religion versus a person's dignity. I commend the Minister for moving this matter forward. I also commit to support him all the way through the legislative process in order to ensure we have robust legislation that outlaws this practice and cherishes everyone in our communities.
So-called conversion therapy is a deeply secretive practice. From what I have heard conversion therapy solely works on the notion of shame and shaming the person who is gay, trans or whatever and builds on that shame. The reason people do not know about conversion therapy is because it is done in secret. I feel that it is important when drafting legislation that we have a clear basis to say that there are very real people, though not a huge number, for whom conversion therapy has had an immense negative impact on their lives. Whether this so-called therapy has a religious background or an alleged psychological background, there is deep and long-lasting damage done to people. I have sought to be consistent in terms of bringing forward evidence and legislation. I know that people would have liked to see this legislation move more quickly. I do not want anyone to be in any doubt about the fact that this legislation is a priority for me and this Government. We will legislate and pass legislation to ban conversion therapy in this country.
Excellent and well done.
Further and Higher Education
I wish to inform the House that the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth is taking the next Commencement matter.
I wish to say to the Minister that the budget had some very welcome moves in higher education regarding student fees and improving the SUSI grant. I am somewhat concerned about addressing core funding for higher education. I am sure that the Minister is aware from reading the Funding our Future policy document that the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, sought to quantify the scale of the investment needed just to address the funding crisis in higher education, and the Estimates are of the order of €307 million. The additional €40 million provided in the budget is welcome but that sum is a long way short of €307 million.
Our challenge at the moment is as follows. We know about the crisis in higher education. It is a good news story that we have an ever increasing number of people taking up third level places. I also welcome the fact that additional places are being provided again this year, particularly in certain critical areas for society and the economy. However, there is no point in continuing to create places if we do not address the underlying question of core funding.
The issue has been kicked around for the past decade. It was welcome when it was quantified this year. The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, committed to a programme of investment of €307 million. The Minister, Deputy O'Gorman, having worked at a university, will be familiar with some of the challenges faced by that sector in respect of a lack of space and the pressures on libraries, laboratories and other services. We need a timeframe for the sector for when we can talk about investing that €307 million. We must remember that money is just to address the current funding crisis within the sector. There are other issues, including those relating to student accommodation and so on. Those are separate challenges. This is about ensuring our higher education students and researchers are able to operate in world-class universities and higher education institutions. I was disappointed, given the level of the commitment supposedly received by the Funding the Future document, that the budget only went as far as the provision of €40 million. This country's social and economic future is going to be based on talent and our universities and higher education institutions are going to be at the heart of that. We must ensure the conditions in which students, researchers and academics operate are able to hold their own against other institutions around the world. At the moment, because of the funding crisis, they are unable to do so, as they say themselves. I hope the Minister can give us a timeframe, in the context of Funding the Future, for when we can address the deficits in the sector.
I thank the Senator. I appreciate his raising this important issue. I am happy to provide an update on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Harris, on Funding the Future and the implementation of a sustainable model for the future funding of higher education.
The Minister, Deputy Harris, launched the Funding the Future framework, along with the Minister of State, Deputy Collins, on 4 May. The policy is a response to the Cassells report and the Directorate General for Structural Reform Support, DG REFORM, reviews on the future of higher education. The Government has made important decisions about the sustainable model for the future funding of higher education and, critically, we have definitively taken student loans off the table. We have instead chosen a mixed model of investment, which includes funding from the Exchequer, employers and students. The policy sets out the vision and direction of higher education funding, our ambition to drive reform and support agility and responsiveness in the sector, and the need to ensure students are supported in accessing education and training. This includes the planned investment of €307 million to address core funding challenges for our institutions. This will be made over a number of years through annual budgetary processes. It does not account for future demographic needs or new policy proposals for higher education. There are plans to consider options to address cost as a barrier to higher education and how we will pursue funding measures on these issues through the Estimates process, including in respect of reductions to student contribution and enhancement to the Student Universal Support Ireland, SUSI, grants in line with the student grant review.
The provision of higher education funding on an annual basis is a part of the overall expenditure management and budgetary policy of the Government. It is, of course, imperative that funding be made available to the Department to support these plans to progress reform, to implement a sustainable funding model while addressing the identified core funding gap, to improve pathways from further education and training, FET, to higher education, HE, and to address costs as a barrier to higher education.
The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science was pleased to announce significantly increased levels of funding as part of the recent budget. Over 2022 and 2023, an additional €150 million is being made available to the higher education sector. In 2023, additional ongoing core funding of €40 million is being provided to improve quality and sustainability. An additional €32 million is available to provide sectoral capacity for demographic demand. There is also an additional €20 million for pension costs. A further €56 million in once-off funding is being made available in 2022 for pension liabilities. The investments will facilitate €18 million for capacity building in linked key policy areas for universities and specialist colleges; €18 million for technological university transformation, specifically structural capacity strengthening; €2.4 million for increased funding for exiting medicine places to protect quality and enhance the sustainability of the system; and €2 million for a fund to support increased flexibility in delivery, including co-developed and co-delivered programmes across FET and HE.
This investment is the first significant step in addressing core underfunding of the higher education system in a strategic and reformative way. By providing capacity building for key roles, we are resourcing the sector to adapt and respond to key strategic reform measures. This progress has been expertly aided by the work of the Funding the Future implementation group co-chaired by the Minister and Professors Anne Looney and Tom Collins, which will now continue its remit to develop reform recommendations to inform the implementation of these measures and the development of future budgetary considerations.
In addition, the work of Funding the Future and a recent spending review realised a 25% increase in the level of demographic funding per additional student for the 2022-23 academic year. Through budget 2023, we also secured additional funding of €32.2 million to build capacity for up to an additional 4,125 students. Furthermore, as part of the cost-of-living measures in budget 2023, we also introduced a once-off allocation of €10 million to assist with rising operational costs faced by our FET and HE providers in 2022.
This significant allocation of public resources is a clear demonstration of the Government's commitment to meeting the future needs of the higher education sector to more fully realise its potential in contributing to economic and societal priorities that are central to the country's long-term sustainability.
I have no doubt but that there is commitment to the principles but I ask the Minister to show us the money. While an additional €40 million is welcome, no timeframe has been indicated as to when the critical issue of long-term underfunding is going to be addressed. He accepted that the level of underfunding is now of the order of €307 million but as yet no timeframe has been indicated for that to be resolved. Precisely as the Minister responded, we know this sector is going to be critical to the country's long-term development. We are continuing to expand places and not only for school leavers. We are all going to have to continue to upskill and reskill. That is not only a matter for our universities and higher education institutions but also for FET facilities. To achieve that, we must ensure there is real investment. I would have hoped for a clearer timeframe for achieving what was set out in Funding the Future.
I thank the Senator. The Government has also committed to continuing to address the cost of participation in third level education so that every person in our country can fulfil his or her potential and no person is denied access to education because cost is a barrier. In budget 2023, in recognition of the cost-of-living challenges faced by students paying the full student contribution fee, we have introduced a once-off reduction of €1,000 for the academic year 2022-23. This additional support towards tuition fees will benefit more than 94,000 students.
This week, we also announced a €75 million package to support students and families with the costs of attending higher education via the student grant scheme. As part of the package, the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science was pleased to secure agreement on the introduction from September 2023 of a new rate of student contribution support through SUSI that means up to 50,000 extra families may be eligible for help towards paying the undergraduate student contribution.
For the 2023-24 academic year, we are increasing the income limits to avail of the 50% undergraduate student contribution grant for families from €55,000 to €62,000, thereby creating new income thresholds for undergraduate student contribution support to the value of €500 for families on qualifying incomes of between €62,000 and €100,000. This is all in addition to €18.8 million in supports previously announced in budget 2022, and very much aligns with the approach outlined in Funding the Future to address access for students, which was covered in detail prior to the budget in the Government's first cost of higher education paper.
Charitable and Voluntary Organisations
I apologise if my understanding of where I was on the list of Commencement Matters differed from the Leas-Chathaoirleach's understanding.
I appreciate that and thank the Senator for his apology. I am only reading from a list presented to me by the secretary.
These things happen.
There is no issue. I thank the Senator.
I wish to raise the important matter of Bookshare Ireland, a facility run by the National Council for the Blind of Ireland, NCBI, to allow blind and visually impaired people to access books. It is a facility where books are accessed from various libraries all over the world and shared.
By its name, Bookshare means the sharing of books and other texts for people with disabilities such as those who are blind or have a visual impairment or dyslexia. Imagine walking into a bookshop and finding 90% of the shelves empty. Unfortunately, 90% of the books that are available are not accessible to blind and visually impaired people because they are not available in a Braille, audio or digitally accessible format. A number of years ago, the National Council for the Blind set up a database of books from all over the world to increase the number of books available to blind people and those with visual impairments. It has been remarkably successful, particularly for young people in third level education. As somebody who went through the third level system in the 1990s and struggled with text, this Bookshare project would have been incredible had it been available in my day. Thankfully, it is available now.
I acknowledge the former Minister of State with responsibility for higher education, Mary Mitchell O'Connor, who invested initially to set up Bookshare, but the problem is that it needs to be sustainable going forward and there is no funding for it. I have spoken to the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science about this matter on a number of occasions and I know he is committed to ensuring Bookshare is sustainable going forward. I have put down this Commencement matter just give certainty to the thousands of people who use Bookshare daily given that it is so important when it comes to access to information. Access to information and education is a real equaliser and creates level playing pitches but when people do not have access to information, books and written material, the playing pitch is not level. This is a critical project that needs to receive funding from the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.
I hear what Senator Conway is saying about the importance of this scheme and I am pleased to have the opportunity to update the House on this matter on behalf of the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science.
Bookshare Ireland is the National Council for the Blind in Ireland's accessible digital library for people who are blind or vision impaired. The NCBI's library team supports requests to provide accessible reading material in a variety of digital formats to students with print disabilities, including those in higher and most recently further education. In addition, the service also provides access to the digital library to students with a print disability, namely, learning disabilities, including dyslexia, or physical disabilities that prevent access to standard print. Bookshare Ireland estimates that as many as one in ten students in higher and further education in Ireland has a print disability and may benefit from accessing a service like Bookshare Ireland.
The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science does not currently fund the Bookshare programme and, as such, I am not in a position to update the House on the funding model for the long-term sustainability of the Bookshare programme. However, I can provide an update on the Department's interactions with Bookshare Ireland. In 2019, a once-off capital support was provided in the amount of €150,000 by the former Minister of State at the Department of Education, Mary Mitchell O'Connor, to help the NCBI launch Bookshare Ireland. Bookshare Ireland now supports over 3,000 people, including about 1,140 students. The Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science has received a proposal from the NCBI that seeks a reciprocal partnership approach with his Department in respect of this programme. The funding sought is in addition to the variable funding provided by NCBI fund-raising. Officials from my Department have engaged with the NCBI on its proposal and are considering it. Obviously, we have just agreed our budget and the Department will work with the NCBI to find a pathway forward.
The Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science will spend over €350 million on student supports and related activities in 2022, including the fund for students with disabilities, FSD, and initiatives to support the national access plan. The FSD supports participation by students with a disability in further and higher education. The aim is to ensure that students can participate fully in education or on an equal basis with their peers. The disability officers actively promote the ethos of inclusive learning for all students. Recently, the FSD has also been used for projects to develop strategic disability services in higher education institutions and supports for students. Examples include inclusive design in teaching and learning, improving online teaching and learning practices, staff training, improving campus experience for students with disabilities, assistive technology supports and autism-friendly spaces.
I thank the Minister for his reply. The information he provided is factually correct. This service is not currently funded by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. There is a proposal from the NCBI for a service level agreement or partnership approach to funding it. This week, the State announced free school books for everybody but if this service is not funded by the State, a voluntary NGO will not have the resources to keep supporting this project. I would hate to see what has been achieved through Bookshare lost. In the overall context, €100,000 per year, which I understand is the request, is not a huge amount of money but the difference it would make to many thousands of people in this country is immense. I would appreciate it if the Minister would pass on those comments to the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. Hopefully, this situation can be resolved.
As someone who is a big reader and loves to read, the image created by the Senator of a library with 90% of the shelves vacant is one that resonates very strongly with me. It recognises the hugely valuable service provided by Bookshare. It is a new service that opens up access to literature, fiction and education for those with a print impairment. There is a proposal with the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. I am happy to raise the Senator's concerns with him. There is no better man than the Senator when it comes to raising it directly with the Minister as I know he has already done. Hopefully, we will be in a position to provide more longer term support for what is clearly an extremely valuable service.
Cuireadh an Seanad ar fionraí ar 11.18 a.m. agus cuireadh tús leis arís ar 12.05 p.m.
Sitting suspended at 11.18 a.m. and resumed at 12.05 p.m.