Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome Mr. Malone to the meeting and I thank him for his service in agreeing to do this job. As I understand it, these jobs are not paid. It is a labour of love and I know Mr. Malone has a love for his town and his region. That is an important starting point and I welcome that.

I see DkIT as a pre-eminent education provider, as will most people. I do not see it as being in competition with NUIM or DCU but as providing an education for the people of the four counties Mr. Malone has mentioned. We need to make sure an appropriate range of courses is available in DkIT for the region. The vision of people such as Patrick Hillery and Donogh O'Malley had when these institutes of technology, ITs, or regional colleges were set up originally was to make sure people had somewhere to go in their local area and to ensure the education was of a high standard. Following on from education, we see research and other things happening, such as links with business. I do not see business as the be-all and end-all of an education facility. It is much broader than that. Business is an important part and third level institutions in general are important economic drivers in their areas that should be maximised to the best advantage but they are institutes of education first and foremost. It is always important for us to remember education is good in and of itself, at whatever level people take it up. I want that vision to continue.

I met the president of DkIT last week and it was a productive meeting. I spoke to Mr. Malone outside just now about it but as a Deputy in the region, with a special interest in DkIT having had family members attend there, I look forward to working with him and Mr. Mulvey as a public representative in the area in whatever way I can. I wish Mr. Malone well. I do not have any questions for him. His good reputation goes before him in the region and I welcome him to the job.