Mr. Paul Hannigan:

I thank the committee for its invitation to present to it today. Professor Terri Scott could not make it today as she is, coincidentally, speaking at a career guidance conference in Derry.

The Good Friday Agreement placed emphasis on matters such as agriculture, transport, tourism and urban and rural development as areas for North-South co-operation and implementation. Education received only a single mention because of the profound complexity of the issues involved and the many sensitive subtexts in 1998. Despite the immense challenges that still lie ahead on the path to reconciliation, pluralism and mutual cultural respect, there is today much greater social and political maturity. Accordingly, the opportunity now exists to address North-South co-operation in higher education. Much has been achieved since April 1998 upon which we can now build.

Higher education has mutually enriching objectives. It prepares participants for the employment marketplace, contributes to job creation and economic prosperity through research and technology and knowledge transfer and helps to contribute to social stability by imbuing participants with civic values and awareness of the responsibilities of citizenship. Across the two jurisdictions, there are now many opportunities to give impetus to the aspirations of the Good Friday Agreement and to contribute to economic regeneration and competitiveness by greater co-operation and harmonisation of the higher education systems. This would help to articulate strand two of the Agreement which aims “to develop [areas of] consultation, co-operation and action within the island of Ireland”. Another and no less important legacy of greater occupational and student mobility would be a much higher awareness of what the Agreement refers to as shared “cultural identity and heritage”.

Such mobility and harmonisation can only be achieved by taking practical steps to bring it about. This paper sets out some of the relevant issues. There is currently capacity in the institutes of technology sector. There is under-capacity in Northern Ireland, as it is the only one of the 13 regions in the United Kingdom that has a cap on higher education numbers. Each year, this forces many thousands of students from Northern Ireland to go to Great Britain with the additional costs to them and their parents, a situation exacerbated by the increase in fees. Although some go by choice, many are forced to go because of a perceived absence of opportunities North and South. Equally important, there is evidence that up to three quarters of such students do not return to Northern Ireland or the Republic to contribute their knowledge and skills to economic regeneration and social progress.

The national strategy for higher education 2030, currently being implemented in Ireland, proposes to create a dynamic new globally competitive higher education system to the benefit of all participants. There is a misperception of the institutes of technology sector in Northern Ireland due to the confusion caused by its name. Many potential participants are unaware that each of the 13 institutes of technology offers a wide programme of internationally recognised degrees and areas of study up to doctoral level. The Central Applications Office, CAO, entry mechanism needs reform because it disadvantages students coming from the North to the South. Careers guidance services in the North must also have a greater awareness of opportunities in institutes of technology in helping second level students to make informed choices.

Online learning is an integral part of the future of higher education throughout the world. Not least of its benefits is that it allows access to higher education for many socially disadvantaged but talented students who cannot afford to study in traditional institutions. There is an urgent need not only to promote and facilitate access to online higher education but to incentivise students to study by virtual means. Sligo Institute of Technology has led the way in this growing means of provision and has the largest population of online students in the island. One means of encouraging greater student mobility would be the establishment of several scholarships and bursaries in fields of study of particular importance to developing an island-wide knowledge economy. This could begin in the Border counties where there exists an established tradition of graduates travelling from one jurisdiction to the other every day to work.

The stated longer-term objective of higher education in both the North and the South is to create genuine and inclusive systems of lifelong learning. IT Sligo commissioned a scoping study to look at some of the issues underlying choice of location and participation in higher education North and South. To fully understand the opportunities for North-South co-operation and harmonisation, a much wider scoping study would need to be undertaken under the aegis of this committee to examine the factors acting upon student choice and mobility and to make appropriate recommendations. Its terms of reference must include the impact of demographic changes in the next decade upon capacity and participation in both jurisdictions.

The Northern Ireland Assembly’s independent review of variable fees and student finance arrangements is also pertinent. Both sets of findings need to be part of the wider consideration. The establishment of a joint working group to create greater harmonisation within the two higher education systems North and South and to help break down the boundaries to island-wide higher student mobility would be a significant step forward. By such an initiative we could ensure existing capacity North and South is optimised and increased and that reciprocity and complementarity would characterise higher education North and South.

The most recent work on undergraduate mobility North and South was completed by Andy Pollak and D’Arcy Smyth. The Higher Education Statistics Agency, HESA, in the UK and the Higher Education Authority, HEA, in Ireland collate data and provide analysis. Pollak identifies some conclusions regarding the obstacles to undergraduate mobility on a cross-Border basis. The underlying themes emerging from this research are a lack of information and clarity regarding recognition of qualifications and entitlements to financial support.

The D’Arcy Smyth report concentrates more on the number of students moving between jurisdictions, with a particular focus on the financial barriers impacting upon them. It concludes with a number of suggestions for education policy with a particular focus on the impact of fee differentials on the movement of undergraduates. There are suggestions for pupils, parents, and guidance counsellors which are useful. The report suggests “a need for a new and substantial joint North-South initiative to co-operate and co-ordinate the responses of both jurisdictions to the likely changes in cross-Border third level study.”

Figures provided by Dr. Vivienne Patterson from the HEA identify the flow of students from North to South over the period 2007-2008 and 2011-2012. The number of undergraduate new entrants to higher education in the Republic of Ireland from Northern Ireland has stubbornly stayed at 0.5 % or below over that period. The actual number of entrants varied between 113 and 177 with 168 registered in 2011-2012. However, when the statistics are further investigated from 2007-2008 to 2010-2011, an average of 86% of new entrants went to Irish universities, with institutes of technology averaging 13%.

There is a relatively consistent number of students from Northern Ireland going to high-points courses in TCD and UCD, with 82.5% of those attending university going to these two institutions. However, the year 2011-2012 shows some change, with this percentage dropping to 61%. In the same year, the combined entrants to Letterkenny IT, IT Sligo and Dundalk IT totalled 21%, almost twice as many as the previous year.

The number of applications from the UK to Irish institutions decreased from 1,291 in 2012 to 1,159 in 2013, a decrease of 10.2%. Applications from Northern Ireland applicants showed an increase from 1,139 in 2012 to 1,223, an increase of 84. Overall, applications from the UK and Northern Ireland make up 3.3% of all applications in 2013, the same percentage as in 2012. Therefore, given these figures, it is unlikely to show any major change in undergraduate new entrants for 2013.

While there is an expectation among staff in each of the institutes in which we work that cross-Border mobility of undergraduates should be intuitive, it is obvious from the figures that this is not the case. Despite various initiatives by single institutions, the level of North-South mobility remains lower than one would expect between neighbouring jurisdictions. There is a necessity in Border areas to consider an institute's broader hinterland in the context of regional development and this requires strong political support. I will ask Mr. Cummins to take us through the recommendations.