Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick East, Labour)

I did not hear the Minister of State give a commitment to implement the McIver report so I will repeat Deputy Enright's question. Is the Government committed to implementing the McIver report?

I am concerned at the sweep of the Minister of State's answer which draws in other aspects of adult education. We want to see a distinctive, separate further education sector, that would be properly funded, as indicated in the McIver report, and properly structured.

Is the Minister of State aware, for example, that these colleges do not have adequate funding for technical support, librarians, canteens and the facilities regularly available to other post leaving certificate third level students? St. John's Central College in Cork, which has more than 1,000 students, has no librarian. Instead, it has a part-time information officer. An equivalent institute of technology has 11 librarians and library technicians. In my city, Limerick, the PLC college has 300 computers and no technician. Does the Minister of State understand the pressure in the PLC and further education colleges?

Compared with investment in the higher education sector in this year's budget, €48 million is a small sum. The people to whom we have spoken in the past week or two are willing to consult but they want a commitment to implementation. There will be no bother in the consultation with regard to implementation but can the Minister of State give us the commitment that there will be a timeframe and the McIver report will be implemented over a specific period?

While I am aware the Minister of State does not have a funding net for this year, under the student support services fund she would have some facility to begin to implement the report by providing extra funding for the services I have mentioned.

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