Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses. I am amazed, if not shocked, at the number of people from Northern Ireland who do not avail of the opportunity to attend institutes of technology along the Border. If the witnesses need any help, there will be no problem whatsoever. I come from Dundalk and I know Mr. Cummins pretty well. The Dundalk Institute of Technology, DKIT, is looking to give university level higher education to graduates, and that would be a major plus if it can go ahead with that. The education opportunities in DKIT are very high. The entrepreneurship is excellent. DKIT is doing a lot of cross-Border developments. Within a 90 minute drive of DKIT is a population catchment of more than 3 million people. I see no reason we cannot push hard and try to get as many people from Belfast and Derry as possible.

Regarding value for money, the cost of going to DKIT or other institutes of technology in the Republic compared with the universities in the North is vastly different. On the range of courses in the Republic compared with the North, I was talking to Mr. Cummins recently about potential new courses coming up in DKIT. He mentioned the school of business and humanities and the school of engineering, and these are all bachelor of arts, BA, courses. He mentioned the school of informatics and creative art and the school of health and science. He has a fantastic agriculture programme in DKIT and it is growing significantly. Agriculture is keeping the country going with its exports.

The witnesses mentioned equal status. Could they elaborate on what they mean by that? They also mentioned the opportunity for cross-Border jobs. Mr. Cummins already spoke about the scholarship fund. He mentioned improving admission. We will do anything we can to help because the education is fantastic. DKIT has more than 5,000 students and 80% are from the Louth, Monaghan and Cavan area. Mr. Cummins is trying to advance the colleges all the time. We have a goldmine here in our area around the Border and it is very important we get out that message not only to Northern Ireland but also to the UK. More than 400 Chinese students attend DKIT.

One of the main reasons companies such as eBay and PayPal come to the area is because of the education we have there. The infrastructure will be a big help. Ms Louise Phelan of PayPal has been picking Mr. Cummins's brain and requesting language courses, and I am sure he is bending over backwards to facilitate her. I have nothing but praise for the work the witnesses are doing and I would love to see the institutes of technology go from strength to strength. Another major plus is the number of people they employ locally. I am very enthusiastic about the whole thing and if the committee can give any help, we will be more than happy to do so.