Professor Brian MacCraith:

Many of the main points have been answered so I will not waste time by replicating. First, our submission is that the student is at the centre of what we are trying to achieve here. That has to be stated. It is about the quality of the learning experience for our students and transforming their futures.

In terms of widening participation, and building on what Professor Nolan has just said, we have to recognise that while it was well-intentioned, the free fees scheme has not widened participation and effectively has turned out to be a subvention for the middle classes. We are suggesting that there is a huge opportunity not only to address the sustainability of the system itself but to significantly enhance the attractiveness for those from socially disadvantaged backgrounds to go into education. We have direct experience of that. We have over 1,300 students on our campus who would not be at university were it not for direct interventions but it cost significant philanthropic funds to make that happen. This could be done much more effectively through the system we are proposing.

Second, in terms of foreign direct investment, FDI, raised by Senator Ruane, the selling message of IDA Ireland, which has been very successful, is around the three "Ts", namely, talent, taxation and track record but the indications in recent days is that we could lose one of those "Ts", which will put a huge emphasis on the talent. There could be reputational damage in terms of an under-funded system, and we believe we have been teetering on the brink of quality disimprovement for quite a number of years. This is an opportunity to get that right, but the stakes are much higher now.

My final point is one raised by the Chairman, namely, Brexit. No one quite knows what the opportunities are or what will happen but, anecdotally, in terms of talking to leading academics, researchers and international students who may come here, the absorptive capacity is a key issue. The Chairman asked what the money would be spent on. It is about additional and bigger lecture theatres, more laboratories, student accommodation and all those issues. It is a key issue for international students in particular. We had a major international student recruiting organisation in with us yesterday and they said it is happening in the United States as well. If we think of the profile of international students, many of those will be much less likely to want to go to the US. We now have a potential double whammy in terms of Brexit and what is happening in the US, which might be advantageous to the system in terms of international students, but the absorptive capacity will be a key issue. Capital investment will be required quickly in order to avail of that.