Mr. Lewis Purser:

I will elaborate further on some of the challenges and opportunities for the universities as we face into Brexit. In the 2017-2018 year, there were almost 9,600 Irish-domiciled students enrolled in UK universities, which is equivalent to the size of Maynooth University or two average Irish institutes of technology. The UK has traditionally served as a safety valve for capacity issues in Irish higher education both in terms of our overall student numbers and in specialised fields of study where our domestic provision is limited or, in some cases, non-existent. The figures decreased significantly in recent years due to the increase in student fees in England and Wales from 2012 onwards. There has been an even more significant decline since 2016, in all probability due to Brexit. On the other side, in 2018 we had just over 2,500 students from the UK in Irish higher education, 864 of whom were from Northern Ireland. We place particular value on North-South and east-west student mobility in the higher education sector. However, these numbers have likewise decreased significantly since 2016. This year, applications from Northern Ireland students were down a further 18%, while those from students in Great Britain had reduced by an additional 13%. Brexit has effectively wiped out the gains we made up to 2016 in terms of increasing cross-border student mobility. This is a huge challenge for Ireland strategically. While the reduction in cross-border student mobility is exacerbated by Brexit, the UK's departure from the EU will also have long-term detrimental effects on all-island co-operation, our social and economic interactions with our nearest neighbours and general good neighbourliness across these islands. That is a significant challenge for the future.

The IUA welcomes the Irish and UK Governments' memorandum of understanding, MoU, signed in May this year, which guarantees that the reciprocal rights and privileges offered by the common travel area will continue after the UK leaves the EU. Those rights and privileges include in the area of education and training, employment and so on. However, that overarching memorandum was due to be followed up with a sectoral-specific memorandum between the two Governments which would ensure that Irish students who study in the UK in the future will continue to be subject to the same financial terms and conditions, including eligibility for grants and loans, as UK students, and vice versafor UK students studying in Ireland, including eligibility for Student University Support Ireland, SUSI, grants. That sectoral MoU has not been finalised. To address the associated uncertainty for students and their families, we request the select committee's assistance in ensuring that the proposed sectoral MoU between the Irish and UK Governments on student fees and supports is finalised and signed as soon as possible. Failing that, the universities request that unilateral steps be taken by Ireland to guarantee that UK students coming here for the purposes of higher education, particularly Northern Ireland students, are eligible for free tuition and SUSI grants on the same terms as are Irish students. In addition, students who are affected by Brexit in terms of fees and lack of grants should be priority recipients of the contingency Brexit fund that was announced yesterday by the Government. Their livelihoods and futures are directly affected, and it would be a suitable way of investing some of that money in the future of our young people.

The Irish universities are experiencing a healthy and welcome increase in demand from students in other EU countries, which is good for diversity on campuses and allows Irish students to study and work alongside colleagues from different cultures, thereby preparing them for a diverse future. However, these increases in EU applications alongside the reduction in the numbers of Irish students moving to the UK are likely to put further pressure on existing infrastructure in Irish higher education institutions.

While the broader impact of Brexit on the Irish economy is as yet unknown and could be very significant, it is highly likely that it will also have a detrimental effect on Exchequer income and, hence, on the Government's ability to fund public services such as higher education and research. However, as Professor Ferguson and Dr. Keating outlined, in the most recent economic downturn, the knowledge-intensive economy was key to a rapid recovery. The Government should protect and, indeed, boost investment in higher education and research in order to ensure the substantial economic and social dividends such investment is guaranteed to return in the medium to long term.

Brexit does present some opportunities for the higher education sector in Ireland. It is resulting in a greater number of European and international students applying to study in Ireland, as I outlined. We have opportunities to expand Irish participation in the Erasmus+ programme, particularly if the UK is no longer such an active player. There are large numbers of students from other EU countries who will seek to take a year or several years of their degree programmes in an English-speaking institution. However, we come back to the problem of lack of capacity in a scenario where there are additional EU and non-EU students seeking to study here. Given the ongoing healthy growth in domestic student numbers, any growth in the numbers of international students, many of whom are highly qualified and fluent in English, brings the risk of displacement of less competitive domestic students. In order to overcome these capacity issues, we encourage the Government to put in place a sustainable funding model for higher education and to plug the funding gap over a series of budgets.

We thank the committee for offering us the chance to present a brief overview of the main challenges and opportunities raised by Brexit from the perspective of the Irish universities. The issues we have outlined highlight the need for a sustainable funding model and a significant increase in Irish expenditure on research and innovation if we are to overcome the challenges that arise and capitalise on the few opportunities that are available. We would be delighted to discuss these and any other relevant issues with the committee.