Mr. Ned Costello:

In response to Deputy Thomas Byrne, we made an extensive submission as part of the process of consultation that the Department and the Minister engaged in. The funding component of it was not reflected in the action plan. The Department and the Minister seemed to take a thematic approach and this was the basis of the structure of the plan. Even though it is not sectoral, we were surprised at the degree to which higher education does not feature as a central part of the action plan. In addition there does not seem to be an acknowledgement that there is a structural funding problem in higher education. It is well recognised in the Cassells report that with the kind of student-staff ratio we have at the moment and with the reduction in expenditure we have had, it is not possible to deliver the kind of quality education we need.

I wish to respond to Senator Ruane's comment on the corporation tax rate and recent developments in the US. This shows more than ever how reliant we are on the quality of our education system and more importantly the quality of our graduates. They are our key competitive advantage. There are proposals in the US which, if implemented, would put us in a significantly difficult position with respect to tax competition. That is a bit of a wake-up call and shines a spotlight on the quality issue.

On the national training fund, we are saying that it is not a zero-sum game because the fund currently extensively supports the training in and for employment. We mentioned the transparency piece. Most of the "for employment" piece goes to SOLAS, but it is never fully clear. We never get a breakdown and we do not know where it is going. More importantly as the economy has recovered, employment has improved and wage levels have risen, the fund has gone into progressively greater surplus. There will be a projected €272 million surplus by the end of the coming year. That money could be deployed at no opportunity cost to the training system. It is money that is available. Everything that the current fund funds could still be funded. That is separate from the issue raised in the Cassells report about increasing the levy. Obviously every 0.1 percentage point increase could bring in an additional €50 million. We are saying that there is the guts of €300 million resting in that account and we should acknowledge that it is a factor in the general Government balance. In the context of the €36.5 million in the Estimates, surely there is an opportunity to do something there.

I can come back on Erasmus later if colleagues does not deal with it.