Dr. Frances O'Connell:

I think it is action and focus to support the evidence we are presenting, to support us. The Cathaoirleach mentioned the Trinity model. For those of us who have come from the institute of technology sector or technological universities, we do not have access to that same private level of income. We had about €120 million of funding. That is used for the numbers and we do not have opportunities to get access to other funding in order to address either the physical infrastructure, the level of support, the OT support or even to support students with their career when they graduate. It is about recognising the needs of our students and adequately supporting that. That is our ask. We welcome and cherish students and our purpose and values are very important to us.

In terms of TUS's history and having access to higher education from socioeconomic disadvantage, and now other types of disadvantage, we are here to serve our communities. We have a huge geographic footprint in Ireland. We want to support our students, including those who come from second level, those who come from ETBs and those who want to do apprenticeships. Irrespective of what they want to do, we want to support students to have a positive student experience and be able to engage fully with the supports that will help them based on their need.