Dr. Stephen Farry:

I apologise for joining late. I also apologise if I repeat anything that has been said already. I must declare an interest as a former Minister with responsibility for higher education in Northern Ireland, albeit a few years ago.

I wish to pick up on Deputy Carroll MacNeill's points, which are very relevant. I want to stress that the scope for increased collaboration in higher education, whether research or student flows, is massive and still very underdeveloped. It is very piecemeal. There are barriers to the A level issue, but the vast majority of Northern students in the South are in the Dublin institutions. If one looks at Galway, Cork or Limerick, the number of Northern students tails off dramatically and is probably well below 100 in some of those institutions. When talking about Limerick, it is worth noting the work of J.P. McManus has done with his all-Ireland scholarships which have benefited students with improved access from all parts of the island. They have been very welcome for many people.

On student flows, particularly in regard to the north west, I appreciate this is more on the higher education front, but it is worth recording that there is a particular issue in terms of the further education provision in that area. The North West Regional College in Derry and Strabane has a very high level of students coming from Donegal. That is a much bigger flow than one would see in places such as Enniskillen or around Newry. There is a long-standing issue with regard to Letterkenny's offering around the level 2 and level 3 provision in County Donegal. This is something that both Governments need to regularise in some form in the coming months.

John Finucane made a point regarding peace studies and the work at Magee. I might clarify something with Professor Ó Néill who might say something about the situation relating to the CAIN archives, which were slightly under threat. I understand some good work has been happening in recent months to try to create a long-term sustainable solution in that regard.

On Northern institutions having ongoing access to Horizon Europe, the partnerships that are being developed, particularly between Ulster University and Letterkenny, will be instrumental in giving Northern institutions some type of route back into Europe. That will be critical into the future.