Mr. Colm Eastwood:

I thank the Chairman. I particularly thank Mr. Hannigan and Professor Ó Néill. I know the real commitment both men have to expanding university provision in County Derry. The medical school is welcome. Professor Ó Néill, in particular, will know the long hours that were put into finally getting that across the line and it is good that we are there. CIDRA, CARL, THRIVE and all the initiatives around the city deal innovation projects are important and welcome.

It is great that the shared island unit and the programme for Government in Dublin have a real commitment to university provision in the north west. However, we have to be honest as well. Derry and Inishowen in particular have been absolutely starved of investment in higher education. It is a scandal that the decision was made in 1965, which we all know about, and it has not really been rectified yet. It is disappointing that we have more commitment from the Dublin Government than from the Stormont Government. The many promises over many years to the people of Derry in particular about having a full-scale operational university based in Derry have not been delivered, and that is the reality. This has had a huge impact in terms of our ability to create employment and create an economy in the north west of Ireland. Whether it is the lack of infrastructure or the lack of university provision, it has absolutely disadvantaged the people of Derry and Donegal and it needs to be rectified.

While all of this is very good and I want to congratulate Mr. Hannigan and Professor Ó Néill for working together and doing all the things they are doing, I suggest we need to be much more ambitious about what the north west needs. There needs to be a full-scale university in Derry. We need to stop hundreds of young people leaving the city every year and never coming back. Emigration is still a real problem where I come from and it needs to be resolved. While it is very good and we need to keep pushing the Government in Dublin, we need a real commitment from the Government in Stormont to deliver upon the promises it has made.

There are lots of commitments in "New Decade, New Approach" and we will see if we get it delivered. I, for one, will not be quiet about this until we get a full-scale university in Derry. My preference is that this would happen on a cross-Border basis. There is a major opportunity to deliver for the people of Derry, Donegal, Tyrone and the whole north-west region. However, we have to be very ambitious. Piecemeal development will not be enough to rectify the problem. I do not think people should expect anything less. I thank both the witnesses for the work they are doing. I caution that we need to go big on this or it will not have the transformational impact that we need.