Trevor Ó Clochartaigh (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Cuirim fáilte roimh na finnéithe ar fad agus gabhaim comhghairdeachas le Ms Forbes agus an tUasal Esslemont as ucht a gceapacháin. Tá súil agam go n-éireoidh go han-mhaith leo. I apologise as I must ask questions and then run out the door but they will be on the record and I welcome the responses. We had a very interesting conversation yesterday about rural development. It taps into what the witnesses said about access and participation from a geographical perspective. We have some really good examples, for example, the furniture college in Letterfrack that is under the auspices of Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology and Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge in Carraroe, which is a satellite campus. Sometimes the issue of people participating is about geographical access, being able to pay for accommodation if they leave their home place, transport facilities, etc. Have the witnesses had any opportunity to look at devolved education as opposed to a centralised model where it is all on the one campus in a large urban area? Should we be looking at funding more devolved education in rural areas? It would have the knock-on effect of rejuvenating rural areas and local schools and communities as well as providing educational benefit.

I am very interested to hear the witnesses say that social class grading at postgraduate level is re-emerging. The cutting of the postgraduate grant was really cynical. Will the witnesses elaborate on how that is borne out in the statistics? Concerns have been voiced about the liberal arts in third level being dumbed down in favour of the more vocational courses - what are seen as the practical engineering, mathematics and scientific sectors which would be more vocationally orientated - to get people into the workforce.

Have the witnesses looked at non-academic issues in funding in third level. The amount that is spent on legal fees and consultants in third level education is raised with me regularly. Vast sums of money are being spent on investigations and reports - up to €500,000 in some cases. Have the witnesses had a chance to look at how that money is being spent and how it could be better used?

In respect of procurement and outsourcing, many agency workers are being brought in. Is that saving money in third level institutions or is it costing more money in the long run? Do the witnesses have any thoughts about how that should be reformed? The witnesses also said that students are borrowing significant sums of money. I see that regularly. Students who contact me are doing two or three jobs in restaurants and bars so they are struggling. Is it feasible even to contemplate bringing in a loan scheme that will affect them down the line? Does Dr. Doris's model take into consideration that these people will be getting married, could to go to work in Dublin or Galway where the rents are very high and will have mortgages, children and health care costs? It would seem to me that one of the arguments put forward against the loan idea is that people will be on very modest incomes anyway and will be trying to get on to the property ladder and make a life for themselves and that having another debt around their neck before they even start is a very detrimental step. Leis sin, fágfaidh mé na ceisteanna sin ar an taifead.