Averil Power (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his presentation. I am glad there is such a spotlight on education as part of our Presidency and that it will be at the heart of the EU's 2020 strategy. That is crucial, particularly in the context of tackling issues such as mobility, youth unemployment and issues in which there is a great deal of value added at the European level. We must have our own strategies, as must other states, but there can be a huge amount of value added when European countries work together.

I have two questions, one of which is on the Erasmus programme. I join my colleagues in welcoming the increase in the budget but my concern is the way we ensure that Irish students avail of it. That is the key issue for me because we have always had poor participation rates in Erasmus compared to other EU states. As part of the Irish Presidency to what extent does the Minister have an action plan to increase Irish participation in Erasmus? What does he see as the major obstacles to greater Irish participation? How does he plan to advance that as part of the discussions with his colleagues? A bigger budget is welcome but if it is a bigger budget for everybody else it does not necessarily give us the payback we want here.

There is considerable untapped potential for Irish students.

With regard to the recognition of professional qualifications, it is stated agreement on the modernisation of the directive has been identified as a priority for Ireland during the Presidency. What are the major obstacles to that? Are there particular professions in question? Do we still have difficulty securing recognition across European states? Are there differences between Ireland and elsewhere? Initially, an issue arose with regard to teachers. The Teaching Council was supposed to have been working to sort out that. What are the difficulties and how might they be addressed in the context of the Presidency?