Ms Nora Trench Bowles:

I will again flag value added, Ireland on an international stage and the challenges that we know are coming down the line when it comes to corporate tax. I repeat that higher education and research are very positive and fruitful areas where we can take a lead and co-operate very well at a European level. I take this opportunity again to mention the European universities initiative. There are a number of pilot European university alliances ongoing, and the popularity of Irish higher education institutions is remarkable. We are very sought after when it comes to being partners in these alliances. The excitement surrounding these alliances and their potential cannot be overestimated. They will sit at the centre of European policy when it comes to European education area and the European research area in the coming years. We are, however, thwarted somewhat by the fact that our Dutch, French and German partners in these alliances have national or regional level funding and supports for the EU level funding which we simply do not have here. I repeat the call to capitalise on the opportunities of these European university alliances. We need that national level support. This goes back to Dr. Brennan's points about joining the dots between the European level funding and the national level funding.