Ms Triona McCormack:

I will pick up on a couple of points made by Professor MacCraith but I want to focus on research and on the need for investment in the system, as well as staffing issues.

World-class research and the creation of knowledge is a borderless activity in which we are all engaged. International networks are incredibly important and UCD is no different from other Irish institutions in that the UK is our most significant and primary partner. Knowledge networks provide a shared resource base to create new insights, new products and the things that drive our economies and societies forward. It is important that we can manage and maintain those knowledge networks as we move into the future and, as a key partner, the UK is a significant part of that so we will have to look at bilateral arrangements if it is no longer part of the Horizon 2020 EU funding system, which has been the backbone of knowledge networks for the past number of years. In 2014-2015 the UK received over €1 billion in funding from that source, allowing it to employ 9,000 researchers. It is a really significant resource base that has allowed its economy to advance.

It is important to maintain our partnerships but Brexit also allows Irish universities an opportunity to access some of that funding. It is not inevitable, however, as there are competing member states and Germany, for example, is a high attractor of research funding, as are Italy, France and the Netherlands. It is critical to look at constraints within our own system, such as infrastructure and basic funding and, as Professor MacCraith said, absorptive capacity from the point of view of staffing, to enable us to capitalise on the opportunity. The priority given to research and innovation in Theresa May's statement on 17 January was very clear and the UK is steadfast in its belief in the value of funding for research and innovation. It has committed some of its own resources to make up for the gap. We need to be as steadfast in our belief in the importance of that funding and we need to make the necessary investments because they have real impacts.

Research funding can be seen in the context of the overall health of the economy and industry needs to maintain its export profile in the face of a very challenging Brexit environment. We have been looking at how we, as a public sector organisation, assist our industries to be more competitive in this space and move beyond commodity products, which are very important to some sectors such as the agrisector, which have been impacted by the weakness in sterling. The mushroom industry is a good example because 80% of sales are in the UK and it was called the earliest casualty of Brexit when a number of mushroom facilities shut down in October and November. One company, Monaghan Mushrooms, is surviving and, indeed, thriving and we have worked with the company to assess the impact of vitamin D in its mushrooms, which has given it a growth opportunity. We need to do such things with more of our industries to help Brexit-proof them and research and innovation is a means of doing that.

UCD has a significant international student base and 25%, or more than 7,000, of our students are from abroad but I echo the challenges mentioned by Professor MacCraith in infrastructure, the cost of living and the cost of housing. We have put an additional 350 units on our campus this year but it is a continuous challenge to meet the demands of new incoming students and that will continue to put pressure on the system. UCD is a research-intensive university with a highly international profile of both staff and students and we want to be part of capitalising on the opportunity that Brexit presents. We see ourselves as part of the Irish solution, North and South.