Mr. Lewis Purser:

It is a question of supply and demand. There is much more competition in the Republic generally. We see the same phenomenon with applicants from other parts of Europe who want to come and study here but find the system closed to them because of the way we do things. By that I mean the CAO, but also the timelines. They students get offers from other countries such as France and Sweden much earlier than they do here. They know where they are going before the leaving certificate results even come out.