Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses. An Teachta McConalogue asked about the resource issues and I would be interested to hear the witnesses' comments on that.

As one who comes from the west, I am interested in the geographic dispersal of students. One of the key system objectives is to promote access for disadvantaged groups, putting in place coherent pathways from second level education. It shows that the geographic pockets of socioeconomic disadvantage have remained like that following decades of Government policies that have concentrated poverty in these areas. Do the witnesses agree with that statement?

A student survey as part of the strategy was published in 2013. What other goals from the strategy have been achieved? Has any progress been made to facilitate greater mobility of staff between higher education on the one hand, and enterprise and the public service on the other, to promote knowledge flows and to capitalise on the expertise within higher education for the benefit of society and the economy? Has any progress been made on the strategic goal of having contracts for academic staff reviewed with a view to recognising academics' professional standing and requiring comparable levels of accountability to those in place in the wider public and private sectors?

Coming from Galway, I cannot let the opportunity go without asking about the issue of equality in NUI Galway. I have met people from the SIPTU academic branch in NUIG. Their sense is that there is a culture of inequality across the broader third level sector. Has the HEA any methodologies in place as part of this strategic plan to investigate that and to ensure it does not happen?

As a Gaeilgeoir, I am concerned that I do not see anything regarding the Irish language. Where do the Irish language, Irish language education and staffing levels in the Irish language sit within the overall framework?