Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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I welcome the witnesses. I am conscious that we are tight for time so I might just fire questions and take advantage of the witnesses being here. Previous Deputies spoke about resources supplied to the NCBI. Mr. Mullaniff mentioned that there are resource shortages. Could he clarify what they are specifically? Is it funding, staffing or both? He also mentioned visiting teachers. Is there a disparity there if someone is in the north of the country, the south, east or west? Is there a shortfall in those teachers? Are the vacancies regional or is it just that they are spread too thin and there are not enough positions, full stop? I am assuming many students, thankfully, do the leaving certificate and I hope the majority, if not all, progress to third level. What is the fall-off from second to third level? Once these students reach third level, what is the attrition rate comparative to all other students? Are they well above the average in terms of attrition and drop-outs from college?