Mr. Pat Doherty:

I thank representatives of the three colleges for their presentations. I have some broad questions, the first of which is very simple. I support their recommendations but I also suggest that they approach the Committee for Education in the Assembly and the Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection. I have been a Member of the Legislative Assembly for 14 years and I am well aware of the potential for joint North-South committee meetings on issues of relevance. If the witnesses were to make presentations to both committees and encouraged them to enter into a joint undertaking they might advance their proposal.

They spoke about the misperception about the status of institutes of technology. That offers a challenge to us as politicians to change these perceptions but the institutes also have a role in addressing the issue by giving politicians the tools to act on their behalf. I am familiar with Letterkenny Institute of Technology through family members who studied there and other interactions with the college.