Professor Brian MacCraith:

I will try to summarise my opening statement as much as possible because I realise that many of my colleagues have very similar points to make so in order to save time, I will cut it down. We think there are four main areas of relevance and one key challenge. In terms of student flows, which would be the first area, and picking up on the point made by the Chairman about the 12,000 Irish students in the UK, we believe there are three reasons why Irish students are in the UK. One is that distinctive programmes are offered there that are not available here. The second reason is excellent students who would probably be getting into universities like Oxford and Cambridge. The third reason is an inability to get into equivalent degree programmes in Ireland. The key point we would make is that if there is no increase in capacity here, this will increase competition for places in Ireland with two potential consequences. One is a potential increase in CAO points in specific programmes that are competitive and the second is the displacement of students who would otherwise have obtained places.

In the broader context and looking at international students, I would distinguish two cohorts. One consists of EU students, who will now be international students in a post-Brexit UK. They may well see Ireland as a very attractive proposition, although, as we know, many continental European universities are offering programmes through English so there will be a competitive space there. We must also include broader geopolitical developments. There is very clear evidence that looking at Brexit on its own is not really sufficient. One must look at Brexit in terms of what is happening in the US and elsewhere - anywhere with immigration issues. For example, a report in yesterday's edition of The Financial Timesstated that Indian students, who might have traditionally looked at the US in terms of MBAs and finance degrees, are now thinking about other English-speaking countries. We would argue that there is a huge potential international student opportunity - both EU and non-EU - from the combination of Brexit and other factors.

The second point relates to staff mobility. DCU is already seeing evidence of significant increases in numbers of EU academics currently based in UK universities looking to move elsewhere. Again, the combination of cultural instability, immigration policies and a general feeling of not being welcome is causing those academics to consider moving. If we couple that with a potential inability to avail of the huge Horizon 2020 funding for research and innovation, it is causing those academics to think of Ireland as a more attractive proposition.

I wish to address North-South engagement. As the university nearest the Border, DCU has put huge emphasis on the cross-Border mobility of staff and students and recognises that it can play a significant role in the stabilisation of peace on the island. We highlighted the issue of the inequity in the points system that was preventing large numbers of Northern Ireland students from coming South. This has now been fixed following the highlighting of the issue. We have put various scholarships in place. It would be a source of grave concern to us if, as a consequence of a hard Brexit, all the effort to attract these students from Northern Ireland, which is only an hour away, was nullified. In respect of academic staff, one of the great deficiencies is the fact that there is no mechanism for establishing North-South research centres. Again, this could create significant contributions to an all-island economy, as well as the mobility of staff back and forth.

I could keep elaborating on the potential opportunities, and there are many, but the single biggest challenge we must highlight is the constraint afforded by the absorbative capacity of the system here in many different ways. The committee has heard one of them discussed previously. It is the unsustainable funding model, as highlighted by the Cassells report. If this is not addressed, it will ultimately result in a significant drop in quality with consequent reputational damage. International students and international staff will not want to come here in such a situation. Insufficient capital funding to provide the necessary expansion and upgrade of teaching, learning and research infrastructure will have the same consequence. A very important issue, particularly for international students, is the inadequate supply of suitable and affordable accommodation for students. International students look for high-quality accommodation and often their decisions are made on the basis of that. As members are aware, we are already dealing with a significant challenge for our own students in Ireland.

We are trying to take advantage of the huge potential to attract international students by making Ireland what the HEA has called a "student talent magnet" but we do so in the face of an infrastructural deficit.

We are delighted that this committee is addressing and highlighting the issues and hopefully they will be incorporated into the Brexit negotiations. There are massive opportunities for the sector in terms of staff quality, research, the quality of students and the general benefits of internationalisation but there are huge challenges as regards absorptive capacity.