Ten new courses tailored towards students with intellectual disabilities will open later this year in ten universities and third level colleges across the country.
They will cater for a total of 150 students who will complete one or two year programmes in a range of subjects including the creative arts, communication and IT skills, and in health and well-being.
Announcing the courses, Minister for Further and Higher Education Simon Harris said up until now courses have been limited in location and availability "but this investment will help change that and ensure there is equality of opportunity for every person in our country".
Minister Harris was speaking at an event to mark the new courses which was also attended by students and graduates of the country's oldest such course provider Trinity College's Centre for People with Intellectual Disabilities (TCPID).
Students will apply directly to the college involved and there will be specific pastoral and financial supports available.
The colleges include Atlantic Technological University, University of Galway, Mary Immaculate College in Limerick, Dundalk Institute of Technology, Munster Technological University and South East Technological University.
"We know that people with an intellectual disability have not been represented adequately in Higher Education. We want and need our college campuses to reflect communities," Minister Harris said.
He said there would be a strong focus on career progression in the new courses, with the aim of addressing the traditional low participation of people with intellectual disabilities in the workforce.
Some of the courses have work experience built into modules and all are accredited on the National Framework for Qualifications, at levels ranging from Level 3 to Level 7.
"It is life changing for people like us to get permanent jobs," Niamh Biddulph told RTÉ News. A graduate of the Trinity College programme, Niamh now has a permanent job at An Post.
"I work as a HR clerk in the recruitment team so I deal with a lot of CVs, inviting people for job interviews and I work with a team that is very high demand at certain times of the year, for instance we deal with a lot of Christmas casuals and a lot of summer casuals."
Niamh's favourite part of the job is working with her team at An Post.
"I feel very blessed and very lucky to have such a supportive team and the support of my family and friends, and to be able to do something that can actually make An Post a better workplace for everybody."
Niamh told RTÉ News she feels it is vital that more courses open up around the country, so that more people living in rural areas can avail of courses local to them.
"It's about independence and fulfilling our potential," she said.
Dale O'Neill and Saoirse Keogh agree. They are both in their second year of study at TCPID and that means leaving their home in Carlow shortly after 7am every morning for a long commute to Dublin city centre.
They know that for people living even farther away that would an impossibility.
All of the students at the event are hopeful that their studies will lead them into the workplace. They are currently engaging in work experience in companies including Ryanair and FBD Insurance.
"I love numbers. I have always had a good head for figures so I would like to work with computers, in an office," Dale says.
He has just started work experience at Falko a company that deals with commercial aircraft leasing. He will spend one day a week there over the next eight weeks.
Saoirse already has her own business, called 'Crafts by Saoirse', and she too is keen on computing and technology.
Graduate Niamh Biddulph is an inspiration for these students.
"I feel Niamh is so successful. I want to be that in the future," Shannon Brooker told RTÉ News. Shannon too is in her second year at TCPID and would like to develop her own business after graduation, possibly to market a new social media app.
Student Emma McGrath does not yet know what she would like to work at after she graduates.
"I have a few ideas, I'm not 100% sure but I definitely see myself working in an office and I would like to become permanent," she said.
These students are all significantly older than most students. They are in their late 20s or early 30s and Dale is in his late 30s.
"There was absolutely nothing for us before," Dale says. "We were all stuck in a rut."
They feel that this was an injustice. "There should have been something for us," Emma adds. "Now, with these new courses, I feel like it will be more open hopefully."
