Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

It is appropriate at the start to welcome the appointment of Dr. Paddy Prendergast, a former chair of the Irish Universities Association, IUA, in his capacity as chair of the new south-east technological university body. The Chairman and Senator Ó Cathasaigh will also welcome his appointment. I am sure Dr. Prendergast's experience will be of enormous benefit. We should record that appointment.

I thank the witnesses very much, but in a general context dare I say, "Tell us something we do not know". We have known for quite a long period that there has been a crisis in higher education funding. We do not need any more reports. We are coming up to the sixth anniversary of the publication of the Cassells report. The Minister had indicated that 2021 would be the year that this issue would be addressed. I will put a number of questions and each of the speakers might respond.

The Covid-19 pandemic would have had significant impact on non-Exchequer income in all of the institutions. Can the witnesses quantify that? Obviously, significant additional places were provided to deal with some of the challenges presented by the leaving certificate, which had its own costs, but perhaps some of that direct impact could be quantified. Given that some of the universities are borrowed to the hilt, the scope for borrowing is going to be limited to address some of the initial concerns. The witnesses might also be able to touch on that.

I agree with Professor Hegarty's point about micro-credentialism, while Mr. Miley made the point about sustained investment in talent. Ireland is experiencing rapid technological change and it will be up to the higher and further education institutions to upskill and reskill all of our citizens. That has costs. Who is going to pay for those micro-credentials?

The core issue here is funding. The witnesses will be aware that the Minister has recently announced that he is considering a reduction in the student registration fee. The proposed reduction is welcome but it must be very clear that this cannot happen unless the funding shortfall is replaced. It will be extremely short-sighted if the overall package is not put in place. If he was to proceed with a cut in the student registration fee of €1,000 without necessarily replacing the full amount that would be derived from those sources, what would be the likely impacts on institutions? I am not just talking about cost terms; I am referring to the levels of service that would be made available to students. There is a process regarding SUSI reform, and if there is time the witnesses might focus on that. There is probably enough however in those initial questions, which I hope get to the meat of the issue.