Results 1-20 of 1,145,771 for in 'Dáil debates' OR in 'Committee meetings' (speaker:Tom Kitt OR speaker:Réada Cronin OR speaker:Simon Coveney OR speaker:Seán Sherlock OR speaker:Denise Mitchell OR speaker:Duncan Smith OR speaker:Fergus O'Dowd OR speaker:Michael Healy-Rae OR speaker:Jackie Cahill OR speaker:Niall Collins OR speaker:Mattie McGrath OR speaker:Michael Creed OR speaker:Pádraig O'Sullivan OR speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív OR speaker:Mick Barry OR speaker:David Cullinane OR speaker:Dessie Ellis OR speaker:Pauline Tully OR speaker:Paul Donnelly OR speaker:Peter Fitzpatrick OR speaker:Jack Chambers OR speaker:Michael Lowry OR speaker:Francis Noel Duffy OR speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív15 OR speaker:Cathal Crowe OR speaker:Seán Crowe OR speaker:Eoin Ó Broin OR speaker:Anne Rabbitte OR speaker:Éamon Ó Cuív88 OR speaker:Simon Harris OR speaker:Louise O'Reilly OR speaker:Neasa Hourigan OR speaker:Brendan Howlin OR speaker:Patrick Costello OR speaker:Richard Boyd Barrett)

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Needs of Visually Impaired Students: Discussion (15 Oct 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: I thank the Chair and thank our witnesses. It is very obvious they have all had a conversation and it is brilliant to see a cohesive message coming from a particular community. It is incredibly important. To Ms Agbona I have to say I am always very sorry when somebody has to come to a committee and recount their difficulties because we should have a system that does not require people to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Needs of Visually Impaired Students: Discussion (15 Oct 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: When Ms Walsh says "highlighting an issue" it implies that she, as an advocate, is reaching out to the Minister.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Needs of Visually Impaired Students: Discussion (15 Oct 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: There is not a policy working group.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Needs of Visually Impaired Students: Discussion (15 Oct 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: Obviously, there was a great deal in the various presentations. We could probably spend many hours dealing with the different parts of this discussion. It is possible that we all have many questions about the digital aspect because it is a new era. In many different sectors across the country there is a focus on digital and ICT, on whether we are funding them in the correct way and on...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Needs of Visually Impaired Students: Discussion (15 Oct 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: Is that January of this year?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Needs of Visually Impaired Students: Discussion (15 Oct 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: That involves a court case, is that right?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Needs of Visually Impaired Students: Discussion (15 Oct 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: Ten months later, Ms Walsh has not received that correspondence.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Needs of Visually Impaired Students: Discussion (15 Oct 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: My overarching concern is that we build expectations whereby part of the system cannot be validated. For a child to go from early intervention, which is 12 months in some cases, up to the age of 25 or 26 or, God knows, if you do your PhD, into your 30s, it is assumed that all parts of the system would work together.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Needs of Visually Impaired Students: Discussion (15 Oct 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: Are we building in choice for the benefit of the student or the view that the system might fail them at a later date?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Needs of Visually Impaired Students: Discussion (15 Oct 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: To clarify, Ms O'Dwyer would see summer provision as an opportunity for VI students. Most VI students are in mainstream education and, as described, are received supports from teachers and SNAs who are probably learning with the child what that child needs as with all disabilities but VI is very specific. Most SNAs will have only one child with VI throughout their career. If we can move it...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Needs of Visually Impaired Students: Discussion (15 Oct 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: Summer provision has become last minute as we do not know who wants to offer it or which employees want to take up the opportunity. Ms Healy indicated that ChildVision would be willing to undertake that kind of work.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Needs of Visually Impaired Students: Discussion (15 Oct 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: Is the capacity there?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Needs of Visually Impaired Students: Discussion (15 Oct 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: Regarding the pilot in Munster around orientation and mobility, why has that not been expanded? How long has it been in place?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Needs of Visually Impaired Students: Discussion (15 Oct 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: I am sure everybody else in the country is quite jealous of that. Why has that not been expanded? Does Ms Walsh have any insight into that? I know Féach is not the Department but I am just wondering.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Needs of Visually Impaired Students: Discussion (15 Oct 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: Am I correct in saying that when we talk about orientation and mobility, particularly for VI students who are not in the community, there is a belief that that is about learning to use a cane and walk around the town, when in fact it is about independence, particularly in school life? Much of that is down to the social side of things. Ms Agbona spoke of being sent to have lunch somewhere...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Needs of Visually Impaired Students: Discussion (15 Oct 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: Does Ms Agbona want to say something about that? She described something that is probably a fear of many parents - that their child would not have access to the social side of school or be empowered. Most parents want to wrap their kids in cotton wool and it is easy to retreat home. Maybe we are not supporting people to move out into the world and make links.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Needs of Visually Impaired Students: Discussion (15 Oct 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: I suspect there is a huge cohort of visually impaired students who also have other challenges. They might have another diagnosis. They might, as Ms Agbona said, have a migrant parent who does not necessarily feel she will be heard if she goes to the school. There are all sorts of things because people's lives are complicated and complex. We should have a system that serves that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Needs of Visually Impaired Students: Discussion (15 Oct 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: I reiterate that because it is extraordinary we might be looking to move that funding out of the Department of Education. If it currently is in the Department, that seems an unusual choice because we have heard from the previous speakers that it is about the experience of school and is absolutely about school life. Whether it is a legacy issue or not, we might need to look again at that. ...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Needs of Visually Impaired Students: Discussion (15 Oct 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: I am sorry, but when Mr. Kenny is meeting the needs of one in four students, what he means is one in four students apply for recognition under reasonable accommodation. I am sure many of those students would say they are not reasonably accommodated.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Education Needs of Visually Impaired Students: Discussion (15 Oct 2024)

Neasa Hourigan: I am just looking for a timeline. I have a very small amount of time. I am just looking for a timeline of the review.