Seán Sherlock (Cork East, Labour)

That is a very subjective statement. There is no way of predicting the number of people who will apply for postgraduate courses, except to say that it is increasing year on year. Ironically, this increase is as a result of the loss of economic sovereignty. I take the point made by Deputy Smith in respect of interaction with industry. The research prioritisation exercise will be published and its purpose is to derive greater economic benefits from the research we are carrying out. There is a deepening collaboration between industry and academia in terms of research. I am talking to global companies that provide thousands of jobs in this country and I am talking to indigenous firms that want to move into the space of taking on board more graduates. Labour market activation measures, which will be launched shortly, will also attest to this.

In terms of the finite number, we must know the number of people who will apply for funding before we know the endgame in terms of the amount allocated. There is no doubt that the level of a person's economic resources has an impact on the level of educational attainment. We are seeking to ensure we can fund those with the lowest incomes. A number of postgraduate research based courses are funded by industry or through calls. We must also bear this in mind.

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