Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)

I am conscious that some of the older universities are not accustomed to the close engagement of either the Higher Education Authority or the Department. The types of economies to which Deputy Smith referred are self-evident common sense. No commercial enterprise could afford to allow expensive plant and equipment to lie idle for long periods. Nor is this an issue only in the university sector. We have even less knowledge of what is happening in the institutes of technology. Part and parcel of the exercise to which I referred earlier will be a wide-ranging letter from the Higher Education Authority seeking to identify what each institution does, what it intends to do in the next decade and how it will meet those objectives. I intend to engage fully in that process while being careful at the same time not to stifle innovation, creativity and independence of operation. We must maintain the balance between our third level institutions being able to engage enthusiastically in certain activities and ensuring we get good value for money on behalf of the taxpayer.

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