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

Some relevant suggestions have been made that will inform our work. We note the challenges with the new economy that will come on board. If Boris Johnson does not get his way, it is to be hoped we will have an economy soon.

I was on the new Ulster University campus on Friday. I want to thank Paul and Claire-Anne for their tour and discussions. It is fabulous. I have told everybody about what it has to offer.

What is different this time is that it is explicit in the legislation, which gives the context. There is now a context that has never been there before, in particular relating to student mobility. Great collaboration has been happening across the island, but it has not reached undergraduate level. That is what we are trying to get at here.

We should continue to encourage lifelong learning, but we need to improve the understanding of undergraduates across the island, which feeds into prosperity, peace, reconciliation and everything we are trying to achieve on the island as a whole. That is explicit in legislation. That creates a responsibility around resource allocation to make sure it happens. The committee is clear about the role we have to play in that. As an Opposition spokesperson, I am clear about this.

In everything we have spoken about with the Minister, Deputy Harris, regarding having an all-Ireland approach, he has never said anything that has given me any reason to doubt what he has said. We will follow the money and where resources are being allocated, and that speaks volumes. The Minister has supported everything we are trying to do on this committee.

I want to ask Mr. McKendry about the veterinary school that has been proposed. We have major challenges with the lack of places here. There are 82 places confined to UCD, encompassing small and larger animals. There is a need for vets in rural areas. We need to ensure that accreditation works across the island so that the VCI and Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons accreditation is in place. Could the witnesses speak to how important that all-island accreditation is?

Do the witnesses see any opportunities besides that, even for a joint approach? I raised it with the Minister last week and it seemed as though he would support a joint approach between one of the HEIs or colleges here and in the North. We spoke about that in respect of Ulster University and of Queen’s. We have an opportunity here as well to show that we are intent on the all-island approach for veterinary studies.