Carol Nolan (Offaly, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I thank the group for coming here this morning. I thank them for an informative and valuable discussion.

A number of speakers have mentioned the national training fund. What proportion of the fund makes it way into higher education? What services has the money been used for?

In terms of access to higher education, is it true that one in five of all undergraduates students avails of the HEAR access scheme? Has the sector reached its target under the national access plan in this regard? What measures do the witnesses deem to have brought success?

Institutes of technology have indicated a high level of non-completion rates by people who hail from a lower economic and disadvantaged background. Do we have any idea of the scale of non-completion rates from these groups? Is this an issue in the higher education sector? Is the problem more acute in the IT sector?

I am aware that institutes of technology do not have the capacity to borrow at present due to issues with the fiscal rules. To what extent has that exacerbated funding issues for them? To what extent would the power to borrow alleviate funding issues in the sector?