Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail)
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I thank the witnesses, all of whom I know from a previous life. I thank them for their presentations today.

This committee is going to make a report to Government outlining some of the challenges currently being faced by a number of sectors and also some of the opportunities. I have a few questions in which I will ask the witnesses to tell us directly what they want us to include in our report. It follows on from the presentations. I will put all the questions together.

To Mr. O'Sullivan, on Erasmus, obviously there is an opportunity for Ireland in respect of the Erasmus, given that the UK has chosen not to continue as part of the programme. What do we need to do in order to significantly up our game to both attract more students under the Erasmus programme, but also in terms of fostering links between Ireland and the UK under the Turing scheme?

I am conscious that Mr. Miley spoke about the impact of Brexit on the costs of raw materials, particularly in construction. It is an issue that has come up in a number of sectors. Perhaps he could outline some of that in detail, provide members with a few examples and state what he would like us to do about it.

I also have a more general question. Perhaps Ms Trench Bowles or her colleagues might wish to respond. It concerns our research capacity, particularly with regard to the Horizon programme at European level and, specifically, what we need to do to enhance Ireland's opportunities under the programme. That is dependent on the decision at EU level on some aspects of the programme that we are currently awaiting, and also the extent to which the UK will be involved.

I address my final question to Mr. Hannigan and Dr. Mulvey. They have direct experience in cross-Border co-operation between institutions. As part of the shared island unit that the Government is pushing, what practical measures can we take to encourage cross-Border co-operation between the institutions on this island?