Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On the borrowing framework for technological universities, I am aware of the Deputy's interest in this matter, both from a regional point of view in the south east and more broadly in terms of the roll-out of technological universities. We are engaging intensively with the Departments of Finance and Public Expenditure and Reform on this matter. It could be a potential game changer for technological universities in Ireland and for the regions. In fairness to the Departments, it is not a straightforward issue. It requires a bit of work but it is worth doing that work and it is under way.

I take the Deputy's point about specific information for students and he put that across in a very fair way. I would contend that we have published a lot of information already. The benefit of the information this year, as opposed to last year when this new Department barely existed, is that we have been working very collaboratively. The document we have published to show how people are going to get safely back to college campuses was written by staff, students and management and has been endorsed by public health, my Department and the Government.

On not one occasion but three occasions - in April, June and July - the Government has said that we want to get our students back to campus. Instead of taking an all-or-nothing approach, we developed a framework and that framework details what people can expect at a minimum and at a maximum in terms of on-site education. At a minimum, tutorials, classroom-based work, laboratories and libraries will come back. Other facilities like societies, clubs and sports can come back in line with the overall advice outside the college campus. At the maximum end, we will get back to the larger scale lectures. It seems prudent, according to public health, to plan for the lectures now but we are planning for them in a way that will require modification. That modification relates to some of the issues upon which the Deputy has touched, such as ventilation, face masks, duration, entry and exit points.

I commend Professor Willie Donnelly on all the work he has done, and did last year too, but I would like us to have an overarching framework and understanding as to what those modifications are, in order that we can all speak with one voice. We must accept that there will be differences between WIT and other places, for example, but there would be an overarching framework for how to safely modify lecture halls for staff and students in a way that is endorsed by public health.

On the issue of international students, the basic rule of thumb is that the same rule applies to a student coming in as to anybody else when it comes to the digital Covid certificate or mandatory hotel quarantine. We do not discriminate positively or negatively in favour of students coming in because the virus does not discriminate positively or negatively, whether people are here on their holidays, for work or for college. However, we go one step further. Something that worked very well last year was that we worked with institutions, particularly our larger institutions where international students tend to come to study, to put in place measures to help the students self-quarantine if that is the requirement, depending on where they have come from. For example, we would have a meet-and-greet service at the airport, where students would be safely accompanied to college accommodation and so on.

Those measures and protocols, which worked really well last year, will be in place again this year. Part of the €105 million funding package announced yesterday includes supports for the colleges around welcoming those international students safely to Ireland.