Jennifer Carroll MacNeill (Dún Laoghaire, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am not sure whether Senator McGahon is here but if he is, I will leave time for him.

I thank Professor FitzGerald and Professor Morgenroth for coming before us, it is great to have their participation. I am glad Professor FitzGerald said he would not read out the tables. The scale of the financial information is huge and the witnesses might forgive me as I try to pick through it. There were a couple of points in particular which I want to go through with them. I refer to the concerns Professor FitzGerald and Professor Morgenroth have consistently raised on the productivity gap and in particular regarding the education side of that. Will they talk me through some of that, perhaps on a more qualitative basis? A particular concern is around the segregation of young people at an early stage based on academic achievement.

Professor FitzGerald has also identified that, of those emigrants who have left to train or work elsewhere, fewer than might be expected may choose to come back. Could he give us any qualitative extras in those regards?