Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank all our guests for presenting to the committee today. The one trend running through all the presentations is that higher education funding has been reduced while enrolments have increased. This is happening alongside these reforms in question. Since 2008, there has been a 12% reduction in funding but a 15% increase in enrolments. What assessment has been done of the necessary staffing and funding requirements to develop those institutes which wish progress to technological university status? While we are putting in the legal structures for that development in this Bill, it will not happen unless the funding resources are available. As Mr. Tony Donohoe said, we must avoid a rebranding exercise that does not allow these institutes to develop properly.

Do the institutes of technology believe the heads of the Bill are sufficient to ensure level 6 and level 7 courses continue to be a mainstay of these institutes? There is a chance of regional imbalance with those institutes that have suggested they may wish to go forward to technological university status being in certain regions. Do more detailed requirements need to be inserted into the Bill to avoid such an imbalance?