Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

A famous commentator whose name escapes me once denounced a response to a question as lies, damn lies and statistics. I do not doubt the Minister's statistics but if I am to believe them I must conclude that the professor presidents of Trinity College and University College Dublin, UCD, were telling lies. Is it a lie that support fell by €11,240 per student, 18% in real terms, between 1995 and 2001? Only the Minister can answer that question. Is she lying and are the presidents telling the truth? Is it a lie that further cuts resulted in a 32% reduction in the student core grant funding during 1995 to 2005? Is the Minister telling the truth and are the presidents lying? Is it a lie that €50 million, taken out of the third level budget in the years 2002 and 2003, has never been replaced? Is the Minister telling the truth and are the presidents lying?

I am caught in the middle. I would love to believe the Minister but I respect the presidents of the two major universities in this country. Their position was further reinforced by a major article, recently published in a newspaper, under the authorship of Mr. Peter Sutherland. I do not believe he has an interest in either promoting Government policy or telling lies. There is a major gap between what the Minister has put on the record of this House and what the two presidents, in an unprecedented article, published in the newspapers. Can we have a resolution to this matter?

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