Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am very glad the Deputy has asked me this. I am very worried, as I know he is, about the mental health and well-being of our students. I am also worried about the dropout rate. This is why I made the comments that I did. Our colleges have been great and they have followed public health advice. They have stepped up to the plate and acted in a co-ordinated manner. They have linked with us. This afternoon, I am meeting the representative bodies of the universities and institutes of technology and next week the Taoiseach, the Minister of State, Deputy Collins, and I will meet the presidents of our universities.

We have to follow public health advice and there will be no deviation from this. Safety for staff and safety for students will come first. If, God willing, this country gets back to level 3 because of the work people are putting in now with regard to the sacrifices people are making, it does have to mean more activity on campus than it would at level 5. That is logical. Today, the libraries are open and this is an important message. The libraries are still open and people can book them and use them. Not everyone has a safe place to learn at home. Practicals are ongoing, as is research. There is also an ability for universities to bring in small groups of students, such as vulnerable learners and people they are worried about. I would like to see a focus on first year students and, perhaps, final year students. I do not think I will be able to be prescriptive and say every institution must do this, because they come in all different shapes and sizes, but I do not think it is unreasonable, in return for the massive investment we are making in our university sector to help it with Covid, to say that in return we want to see an expansion of the on-site campus, subject to it being in line with public health advice. We will be able to bottom this out one way or the other in the next fortnight.