Mr. Paul Hannigan:

I would like to comment on the question of what the committee can do for us. I had a meeting this morning with the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, who has shown a real interest in the shared island unit and cross-Border activity in the education space. Sometimes when we set up these major bodies a lot of the money can be diverted into very high-level projects that do not have an impact on the people on the ground. We would obviously encourage investment in research on a cross-Border basis, but we must look at the impact on the people living in the space where the institutions are located. This cluster was established to support the people in the region. We would like the focus to be kept on that so that people who live here and go through further and higher education can reap the benefit. We can work with the organisations that provide employment opportunities for those who wish to stay here and develop the region. The high-level objectives around infrastructural development and research are really ambitious. We are very supportive of all of that. However, we also have a mission to support the people who live in this region. It is really important that we do not lose sight of that.