Dr. James Browne:

CÚRAM. It is a medical technology centre funded by Science Foundation Ireland. That company's first contact with Ireland was awareness of the work going on in that centre and out of that has come investment into Galway in the form of a new company from India. I am aware also, from contacts with the major international companies such as SAP, IBM and Fidelity, all of which are in Galway, that their investment in Galway is driven to a great extent by access to talent and the university's reputation and its position in the rankings is important in that context. I would not underestimate the importance of rankings, not just for recruiting students and staff but also in terms of attracting and maintaining FDI here.

I will make two other brief comments. Deputy Byrne asked specifically about the issue of grants at third level for postgraduate students. There is no doubt that the decision some years ago to stop those grants had an immediate impact on participation by students in taught postgraduate programmes. That was clear in the system. There was an immediate drop in the numbers attending third level postgraduate taught programmes, and that has only recovered in recent years. There is evidence that that decision impacted on participation by students in postgraduate taught programmes. I would certainly welcome the return of support for those students into the future.

The Deputy asked about residences. Residences are very important. All of us are trying to increase the number of student residences available to us. Our university has recently committed to building 900 student accommodation units. We have sought funding for those and we will acquire that from the European Investment Bank. It is a difficult investment, and I believe the State should take a more active part in supporting student residences. It is clear that, in a general sense, the private sector is not interested in making major investments in that space. It needs some level of support from the State, and it is unfortunate that has not happened. I believe all of us are up for making those investments provided there is some support from the State to help us make them pay for themselves.