Dr. Carmel Halton:

I concur with what Professor Norris has said. We have a very low drop-out rate because of the commitment of staff, the commitment of practitioners and the commitment of students. They have to go through a very rigorous process and if they achieve success within that process of selection then they are absolutely committed to sustaining themselves on the programme. It is really important to reiterate what we have all said, that the master of social work programme and the bachelor of social work programme are both really rigorous programmes and they are very demanding of our students.

On the diversity, there are two bachelor of social work programmes, one in Trinity College Dublin and one in UCC. The one in UCC is for mature entry and we have certainly improved the diversity of people who are entering the profession through that pathway and I would support any endeavours to increase that diversity, whether it is ethnic minority diversity or gender diversity.