Fiona O'Loughlin (Kildare South, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I accept that, but whoever would be in government would have to ensure that did not happen. We are in a situation where we need the Government of the day to invest in higher education. No matter what happens in terms of finance down the road, we absolutely need investment at this point. We sat here and listened to the leaders in the area from the universities and the institutes of technology say that they are at absolute crisis. It has to be a given that the Minister for Education and Skills sells that to the Cabinet when decisions are made. We would have hoped for a commitment to more investment in the last budget but that did not happen. We will be putting on huge pressure to ensure that investment comes in at the next level. However, we still go back to the issue of supporting the students of today and the students of the future and ensuring equity of access, which is very important.

I will revert to the four witnesses. Would they like to speak in the same order? Otherwise, they can indicate. I am in their hands. We will start with Dr. Doris.