Aisling Dolan (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome all our speakers and witnesses here today to acknowledge the European Year of Skills and the activities that have taken place. I am a Senator from the west of Ireland, from the Roscommon-Galway area. I am the Fine Gael spokesperson in the Seanad on education and further and higher education, research, innovation and science. I have some questions for Ms Bird on the NLN approach to education.

I have people from an accessibility group in County Roscommon in with me today. They are here to see Leinster House. The group works with the Roscommon LEADER partnership, which is a development group in the county. It is very important that we have access to these sorts of supports and that there are organisations that support and co-ordinate an event and a visit like this one today. In respect of people with disabilities learning skills, how does this further translate into people getting into employment? What does Ms Bird see as being the key aspects in this regard? I might pursue this question with Skillnet Ireland as well. Regarding enterprise and business too, what is the link in this context and how can we improve it? When someone with a disability, for example, does achieve and get a skill, I am wondering about the next move into employment, including partial employment, and working with employers. I know there are the work links as well.