Mr. Denis Cummins:

The institutes of technology at Dundalk, Letterkenny and Sligo are closest to the Border and have the greatest interest in improving student mobility, particularly from North to South. The three institutions are working in a co-ordinated way, have a number of recommendations to make and seek the support of this committee. I will quickly run through them.

The three presidents of Dundalk IT, Letterkenny IT and IT Sligo recommend that the committee support the establishment of a North-South higher education joint working group. The purpose of the group will be to promote student mobility between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. In particular, the group will promote the following: providing improved co-ordination in respect of admission and progression opportunities for students on an all-island basis; increased student recruitment on a cross-Border basis; the establishment of a programme to facilitate cross-Border staff mobility programmes between higher education institutions; the monitoring of cross-Border student mobility programmes; ensuring the CAO system provides equitable treatment to students from Northern Ireland; facilitating better co-operation between careers services in the higher education institutions, particularly to promote job opportunities for graduates on a cross-Border basis; an annual conference targeted at second level guidance services on a cross-Border basis to promote greater awareness of the portfolio of courses available at higher education institutions on either side of the Border; and the establishment of a scholarship fund targeted at promoting cross-Border student mobility for students from low-income backgrounds.