Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)

I listened to the remarks made by the Provost of Trinity College. He referred to the cuts made and stated we had to give serious consideration to the matter. Are the cuts creating these conditions, as suggested in the Minister's reply? Trinity College has fallen 13 places to 65th in the rankings and University College Dublin has fallen 20 places to 134th. Did that happen as a result of the impact these cuts are having on third level education in this country? If so, it is a serious wake-up call for the Government. If we are serious about producing well-qualified graduates, our universities must be fit for purpose. If funding is the problem, we need to be told.

See this speech in context