Ms Claire McGee:

I thank the Deputy for her question. If time permits I might come back to answer Deputy Bruton's questions as well because they are quite important. They are connected. We have been highly engaged on this topic. It goes back to when the increase was first announced in 2017 or 2018. It was ring-fenced at the time, supposedly to support the underfunding in higher education. As things have evolved, with the buoyancy in the labour market coupled with the increase, the surplus has accrued. What we now also have is a spending gap of approximately €120 million per annum. There is an error in my paper so I hope the clerk will allow me to resubmit it and correct it. The spending gap is adding to the surplus year on year. We are now in what I would call an enviable position with approximately €1.5 billion that we can invest in skills development for those who are seeking employment and those who are in employment and trying to avail of new opportunities.

The challenge is presented in that kind of ceiling or cap within the 5% of each Department's spending allocation. However, given the scale of the challenge and the scale of the surplus, I think we are now at a point that we need to be able to find flexibility.