Robbie Gallagher (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the witnesses. Many of the macro issues we discussed this morning are covered in their presentation as well. It would be remiss of me not to acknowledge the role the ITs have played in rural Ireland and in the regions. In many cases, without the presence of the ITs those regions would be less well off from an economic and social perspective.

I am very familiar with the ones closest to me, in Dundalk and Letterkenny. I understand that unlike universities, institutes of technology, ITs, are not able to borrow money. How much of an impediment is that and would it be a good potential source of funding? They have experienced 25% cuts in funding, which compared with 19% for universities, is stark. Deputy Thomas Byrne and the Chairman mentioned recent media reports about the future viability of several ITs. I would welcome a comment on that. Are the witnesses satisfied that all the ITs have the infrastructure to cater for current and future demand? Do they see an expansion of the ITs existing role and if so what would that be? For many rural families, the IT is the only show in town. It is important that they are supported.