Mr. Paul Hannigan:

I thank the committee for the invitation to be here today on behalf of THEA.

I was before the committee this time last year when it was discussing its report on North-South student enrolment in tertiary education. It is worth revisiting the recommendations from that report and the progress made in preparation for today's discussion. The HEA and SOLAS are now more engaged in cross-Border activity with a particular focus on all-island apprenticeship programmes, funding of nursing and medical education places in Northern Ireland for Republic of Ireland students and investment in cross-Border research activity. Universities Ireland has addressed the A-level issue, as has been referenced in the earlier statements. The Government's commitment under the New Decade, New Approach agreement has been somewhat addressed by the shared island unit investment of €45 million in the new teaching block in Ulster University's campus in Derry. Additional commitments to the broader north west within that agreement still remain to be addressed. There has been some movement on the sustainable funding model for higher education. A new student accommodation strategy was recently published by the Department to directly fund student accommodation on university campuses and there has also been a welcome focus to examine student accommodation plans on the emerging new technological universities. The recent published Global Citizens 2030 strategy, under pillar 5, has an emphasis on encouraging tertiary education collaboration on a North-South basis and this is a timely inclusion that will allow greater focus at an institutional level on this activity.

Two reports, namely, the ESRI report that has already been mentioned and another report by the British Council looked at this issue earlier this year. They drew similar conclusions to the committee's work with a particular concentration on environmental factors outside the control of the higher education institutions but more closely linked to societal factors. The reports specifically referenced the need for clearer career guidance on both sides of the Border and they recognised the problems encountered in securing suitable student accommodation, particularly for first year students.

It is from the vantage point of a Border college that I wish to add to the understanding of North-South student mobility. It is evident from the north west that South to North mobility is different in character to North to South mobility. The feeder school data published in December 2023 shows the significant contribution that Border counties play in providing new entrants to Ulster University and Queens University, Belfast. More than 72% of the students from the Republic of Ireland who commenced studies in September 2023 at the Northern Ireland universities came from the six counties of Cavan, Donegal, Leitrim, Louth, Monaghan and Sligo. Donegal stands out among these counties as the source of nearly 43% of all students entering the two Northern Ireland universities in 2023 from the Republic of Ireland. In addition, Atlantic Technological University was the destination for 57% of Donegal students and Ulster University was the second most popular destination, at 15% of students, with the University of Galway and QUB filling the next two places, at 6.5% and 6.4%.

The data in the ESRI report shows that the small number of students who travel North to South for their studies are distributed across the Border colleges and leading high-point programmes in the traditional universities. Data from the CAO shows that there were just 176 level 8 net acceptances in 2023 for applicants from Northern Ireland, compared to 186 in 2022. There were only 24 level 7 or level 6 net acceptances for applicants from Northern Ireland in 2023, compared with 32 in 2022. At ATU Donegal, an examination of new entrant statistics shows that a small majority of courses attract applications from Northern Ireland and typically, enrolments are in low single figures. Given the many cross-Border links that exists in the north west, and compared with South to North flows, this represents a low penetration of the CAO system in Northern Ireland. In contrast, the collaborative programmes developed with North West Regional College, NWRC, and Ulster University are clearly distinguishable in ATU data as successful initiatives that attract Northern Ireland students. In the north west, it is clear that this asymmetric cross-Border student flow is even more acute, with flows from South to North massively dwarfing flows from North to South. ATU has recently recruited a schools engagement officer specifically to interact with schools in Northern Ireland to address this imbalance. More school leavers from Donegal go to study at universities in Northern Ireland than the total number of students from Northern Ireland who travel to study at colleges in the CAO system.

In identifying possible impediments for Northern Ireland students travelling to the Republic, outside of economic factors, the CAO system is likely to be a key element. The UCAS system reduces uncertainty for applicants in providing students with a conditional offer of a place linked to the achievement of identified grades. Through the CAO system, the student has added uncertainty at application stage of not knowing what the points will be for their chosen preferences when the results come out. Professor Gerry McKenna, in a reference to this committee last year said that applicants can in some way become attached to their UCAS offer, meaning that a subsequent offer from CAO might not seem that attractive. It is important that CAO and UCAS final offers come out at the same time to ensure that students can equally consider the available options. Delays in the processing of leaving certificate results need to be resolved for 2024 school leavers. In the Border counties of the Republic of Ireland, the career guidance staff and teachers are to be acknowledged for the support they give students with UCAS applications, including advice on course requirements, written references, providing predicted grades and support in preparing personal statements. The reference to the inclusion of this issue to be under the North-South Ministerial Council has already been made by Professor Ó hÓgartaigh and that is something we support.

The revisions to the CAO points for A-level students brought about by Universities Ireland is also a welcome development and we hope to see that coming through the colleges in time for an implementation in 2025. ATU will have this in place for 2024. Professor Gerry McKenna also highlighted a concern in his address to the committee last year that could impede collaboration between ATU and its partners in the north-west tertiary education cluster on healthcare courses. CORU, which is the regulator for health and social care professionals, has introduced policies around the recognition of qualifications achieved outside of the State that may impact on the mobility of qualified staff from Northern Ireland for employment roles in the Republic. This has the potential to discourage learners from transferring from the Republic of Ireland to Northern Ireland to complete a whole range of allied health training programmes if they perceive challenges in registering for roles in the Republic of Ireland when qualified. A similar change introduced through the recently established Qualifications Advisory Board, QAB, which was jointly instituted by the Minister for Education and the Minister for children and youth affairs, had consequences for the BSc in early childhood care, health and education. This programme is delivered by ATU staff at North West Regional College in Derry. These changes place the additional requirement on the programme delivery team and on students to facilitate the completion of some placement elements at an approved Tusla facility in the Republic of Ireland. For ATU, this collaboration framework has been the basis for a successful arrangement with NWRC, allowing students from a variety of programmes to complete ATU degree programmes.

Finally, while the Irish Government is investing significantly in the provision of medical education and nursing places in Northern Ireland for Republic of Ireland applicants, other Government education initiatives do not have the flexibility to cross the Border. The Springboard programme, human capital initiative programmes and Skillnet initiatives in particular do not extend to applicants with an address in Northern Ireland, even where the individual may be in employment in the Republic of Ireland. Given the near full employment in the Republic of Ireland and the necessity to attract skilled labour into this country, this is an area that needs more attention. It is also an obvious area where change could be introduced that would address the asymmetry in students flows and bolster the number of residents in Northern Ireland studying in the Republic.

I thank the committee.