Malcolm Byrne (Fianna Fail)
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I thank all of the witnesses for their useful testimony. Dare I say it but the question of higher education funding is the modern political equivalent of draining the Shannon. It is something that everyone thinks might be a good idea and it is kicked to touch and pushed down the road. It is perhaps reflected in the fact that there is not big turnout among Oireachtas Members at this meeting. It is not an issue that comes up much on the doorsteps, bar perhaps questions around fees. There is a challenge politically for us and, I would argue, the sector around communicating some of those challenges. The long-term implications of the sector collapsing are known but the difficulty is around how that is communicated. When there are, as Ms Horan has said, competing demands on the public purse, it is very hard for us to be to able to communicate that. I was struck by how income-contingent loans were immediately dismissed without any necessary debate.

The argument that abolishing fees would be a very good thing has been made without ensuring that the necessary commensurate funding to replace fees is addressed. I take the point that there is a need for more funding.

How do we get this issue to the top of the political agenda where it should be, given that, as Professor Rogers said, we need to meet the needs of the national development plan and we will not do so unless we invest?