Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Somebody really needs to take a hold of this. It cannot be simply left to the institutions to do it. It is a working out of the changes in the legislation there because it is one of the biggest barriers. We cannot ignore the elephant in the room and just leave it up to HEIs to do it. I feel very strongly about that. I commend all the young people and students I have talked to both formally and informally. In particular the Belfast YMCA contributed. We had interesting discussions with its members from across communities. We cannot have a situation where it is easier for students from this island to go to Cambridge and Oxford than it is for them to come down the road. This is one of the main barriers relating to points, A levels and the leaving certificate that needs to be levelled out to open the opportunity to give these students a choice.