Mr. Seán Ó Foghlú:

Regarding the issue of the reduction in expenditure by the State, a certain amount was balanced upwards by the increase in the student contribution. Therefore, as I understand it, the absolute reduction is not as absolute as that set out by the Deputy. He is talking about the core grant. There is now increased student contribution. That is not to deny a significant reduction in the funding of higher education. We understand that this is a difficulty and a challenge. We obviously had to reduce expenditure during the difficult times-----