Further and Higher Education
Dail Éireann — 2026-01-29
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Naoise Ó Cearúil (FF), Kildare North

I thank the Minister for his reply. There has been a concerted effort from the Minister and the Department to ensure that PATH 4 is expanded. It is about realising the potential of every young person through education, in particular. PATH 4 certainly offers that.
There has been strong uptake across higher education institutions, improved staff capacity and awareness, and inclusive training and teaching. There is early evidence of more accessible learning. I pay tribute to some positive examples. Maynooth University has delivered universal design for learning, UDL, training to academic staff and developed inclusive assessment pilots; University College Cork has embedded UDL principles into first-year curriculum redesign projects; and Technological University Dublin has introduced UDL-aligned digital learning standards and staff workshops. However, there does not seem to be a standardisation or an even implementation across higher education institutions. I know we are still at the early stages of UDL adoption, but if there were a standardisation across the higher education institutions, that would make it more accessible to more people.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-01-29/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:34+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-01-29